Another Train Job
by Ellisguy
Summary: Set after Serenity. River has been captured. Jayne is in pursuit. Can he beat the train to the spaceport, or will he lose River forever? Jaynecentric Rayne fic. The Final chapter is up!
1. Smiling Joe's Last Stand

Disclaimer: I do not own Firefly or Serenity. They are owned by Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, Inc. I receive no compensation for writing this, except for what reviews Iget, so please write some.

Author's Notes: I envision this story taking place after Serenity. It is a Rayne fic, because Rayne should be canon. I was inspired by AC-DC's _Thunderstruck_ and let the song play while writing the story.

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**Smiling Joe's Last Stand**

The hover train slowly lifted from the pads and left heading for the Jericho spaceport. The hired guns remained behind to ensure no one arrived looking for River Tam. Their instructions from the two particularly dressed men were to make sure that if anyone did, they didn't leave alive. The mercenaries didn't have any idea who River Tam was or why anyone would come to this desolate cattle ramp to look for her, but the pay was too good to question. It seemed to each of them like the easiest 20,000 square they would ever make. All they had to do was wait one hour, and it would be finished.

They didn't get an hour. Five minutes after the train left, they noticed a small rumbling sound. Listening very closely, their leader, Smiling Joe Black, figured the noise was coming from out of the south. Smiling Joe scanned that direction through his field glasses, until he saw the source of the noise.

What he saw made him stop smiling. About a kilometer away, there was a large herd of cattle heading toward them at a full gallop.

Smiling Joe, now noticeably not smiling, dropped his glasses and yelled to his men, "Stampede! Take cover!"

His words had no effect on the other nine men. They were all looking around and realizing that the only cover to be had was the very small cattle ramp that they were all standing on.

"_Take_ _cover_!" he repeated becoming more agitated. The noise was becoming louder.

"Where?" one of his men shouted back.

"Anywhere!" yelled Joe. His eyes were flashing with anger. The noise was now a large rumble.

"There ain't no cover!" the same man yelled again. "We gotta run!"

Seething, Joe turned to the man, "Nobody's runnin', Chance. We run, we get nothin'."

Chance glared back at him. "We stay, we get dead!" he said hotly. The sound of the hooves now resembled thunder.

"Nobody's runnin'!" Joe barked to the rest of the men, "Now git behind the ramp!"

No one moved. The thunder of hooves was getting even louder.

"Now!"

"Gou huang tang!" shouted Chance as he turned to run. Joe immediately drew his pistol, and shot him in the back. Chance hit the ground, dead. Joe looked around at the rest of his men.

"Someone else want to _chance_ it?" he asked menacingly. The thunder of hooves was now unbearable. The cattle could be clearly seen in the cloud of dust approaching them.

Joe took on last look at the oncoming fury, and jumped behind the ramp. The rest of his men followed, but it was clearly apparent that there wasn't enough room for all of them. It was certain that only a few of them would survive, so everyone fought for a better position.

When the stampede column struck, it initially curved around the ramp, trampling four men on the fringes of the group. Soon, however, the cattle ran over the top of the ramp, and trampled two more of the men. The remaining three, Smiling Joe and two others, pressed themselves against the ramp, waiting for the stampede to pass. When it did, they remained there, listening.

They heard a hovercraft set down behind them and footsteps approach. Joe signaled to the other two that they would jump out to take the intruder. They waited at it seemed that the footsteps were coming around to their left. Smiling Joe and the man to his left raised their pistols, but the third man didn't. Joe gave the signal, and two of the three jumped out of their cover. They froze at what they saw.

Shots rang out from the top of the cattle ramp. Joe and the man who had followed, both fell dead. The remaining man did not move. He saw a newborn calf quickly trot around the corner and follow in the direction of the herd. Then there was a click above him and he looked up.

Above him he saw a muscular man wearing a profane t-shirt, black jacket, cargo pants, heavy boots and sunglasses. The muscular man had a grizzled brown goatee and close-cropped hair, and he was wielding a Callahan full-bore autolock rifle.

The muscular man asked, "Which way'd they go?"

The surviving gangmember pointed towards Jericho.

"Was there a girl?"

The gangmember quickly shook his head.

The muscular man gritted his teeth and pointed his rifle menacingly at the gangmember.

"But there was a box," the gangmember blurted. "Maybe could hold a girl."

"Gotta be doped," murmured the muscular man. Then he looked back at the gangmember.

"Which car?" he asked sharply.

"First, next to the engine," the gangmember replied shakily.

"How long ago?"

"Ten, maybe fifteen minutes."

"Which is it?" barked the muscular man.

"Ten!" the gangmember shrieked.

A broad smile stretched across the muscular man's face that made the gangmember break into a cold sweat. The muscular man then asked, "How come ya didn' ride outta here?"

The gangmember replied, "No horses, we came on the train."

"How was you to leave?"

"Another train is comin' to pick us up and give us our pay."

"How much was they gonna pay ya?"

"20,000 square."

"Apiece?"

The gangmember nodded nervously.

The muscular man shook his head and asked, "You new to this, boy?"

The gangmember nodded again.

A throaty laugh came from the muscular man, and then said to the gangmember, "I'll give ya some advice. Don't let the money make ya stupid."

Blinking, the gangmember saw the muscular man turn to leave. He quickly asked, "What do I do now?"

"Well," the muscular man replied turning back, "if ya think to wait for that train,…"

A wry grin spread across the muscular man's face as he continued, "…jus' afore they kill ya, tell 'em Jayne Cobb is comin' to get his girl."

The muscular man quickly turned and ran out of sight. The gangmember heard the hovercraft power up. He then saw it shoot into view on his left, and race down the maglev tracks.


	2. Reminiscences

**Disclaimer:** All still apply.

**Spoilers:** A lot from the series, the movie, and some works I still have in progress.

**Author's Note:** A flashback chapter to bring you all up to date. I hope some of the sequences aren't too jarring or confusing. I welcome all comments, so please review.

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Reminiscences

The Mule sped west down the maglev tracks. Jayne was making it go as fast as it could without overheating the engines. He knew that the train carrying River had a ten minute lead on him, and that the Mule could make this up, but the problem was what would be waiting for him when he got to the train. The men who took River had expected someone to come looking for her, or else they wouldn't have left Smiling Joe and his gang at the cattle ramp. Did they think those ten men would be enough, or did they have some other surprises waiting?

_Have to deal with what's in front of us._

Mal's words were one of the many thoughts swirling inside Jayne's head. Jayne had to admit that Malcolm Reynolds was a good captain, even though he really didn't want to admit it. It wasn't easy for Jayne to realize, but Mal was rubbing off on him. The back-stabbing, go-where-the-money-is, sadistically cruel Jayne had started to disappear the moment he set foot on Serenity. Jayne clearly remembered that day.

"_How much they payin' you?" Mal asked. _

"_Huh?" The question startled Jayne._

"_I mean…," Mal continued, "…let's say you did kill us. Or didn't. There could be torture. Whatever. Somehow you found the goods. What would your cut be?"_

"_Seven percent, straight off the top," Jayne stated with pride._

"_Seven!" Mal barely contained a chuckle. This drew Jayne's ire._

"_What!"_

_Mal blinked. "Hmm? Nothing, not a thing. No! I just…"_

_Mal cocked his head to Zoe and asked, "That seem low to you?"_

"_It does, sir," Zoe replied coolly._

"_That ain't low…" Jayne corrected._

"_Stop it!" Marco interrupted, but Jayne continued._

"_Seven percent's standard," he said with pride once again._

"_Okay," Mal said with a loud chuckle, and then he turned again to Zoe, "Zoe, I'm payin' you too much."_

_This made Jayne's blood boil. "Why? What does she get?" he asked agitatedly._

"_Knock it off!" shouted Marco._

"_Look, forget I said anything," said Mal trying to ease the situation, "I'm sure you're treated very well. You get the perks. Got your own room,…"_

_Jayne felt his face slacken, and he knew Mal saw it. "You don't? You share a bunk?" Mal asked in disbelief._

_Looking to his right, Jayne knodded to Bentley, and answered disgustedly, "With that one." He and Bentley traded annoyed glances._

"_Really…," said Mal sizing up Jayne's bunkmate._

_Marco turned to Jayne and yelled, "Jayne, this ain't funny!"_

"_Yeah! I ain't laughin'!" Jayne snapped back. He wondered what other lies Marco had been telling him._

"_You move on over to this side," Mal started smoothly, "…we'll not only show you where the stuff's at, we'll see to it that you get your fair share, and not no sad seven."_

_Jayne liked what he heard, but he wanted to be sure. "Private room?" he asked curiously._

"_Jayne!" shouted Marco and looking very frightened._

"_Your own room, full run of the kitchen. Whole shot," said Mal confidently. Jayne liked the look in his eyes. In fact, he couldn't bring himself to look away._

"_Jayne! I ain't askin'…," Marco started to say, but Jayne didn't want to hear the rest. Jayne pointed his pistol at Marco's knee and fired. Marco fell down in a heap. _

"_Shut up!" shouted Mal's new crewmember. He then pointed his pistol squarely at Bentley while still looking at Mal. "How big a room?"_

A slight grin came to Jayne's face as he continued to drive the Mule down the maglev tracks. That look on Mal's face had sealed the deal. With all of his previous bosses, there had always been a shiftiness in their eyes whenever they discussed pay. It was like they were holding something back. Malcolm Reynolds eyes, however, were steady throughout. He had meant what he said, and he delivered fully. It made Jayne feel better, because he didn't have to worry about Mal double-crossing him. It also made it easier for Jayne to plan a double-cross on Mal. Jayne's expression sank at the memory.

"_You did it to me, Jayne, and that's a fact!" Mal's voice hissed over the talk-box. The words burrowed into Jayne's heart like a hot poker. Jayne saw the venom in Mal's eyes through the airlock porthole and went numb. The one man who had the decency to treat Jayne fairly, and Jayne had double-crossed him for a simple bounty. Sure, he had done things like this before, to get a better deal, but getting caught never bothered him so much. This time he felt ashamed. A blank look filled Jayne's face when he realized it._

_Mal turned and started to walk up the stairs. Jayne broke out of his stupor and keyed the talk-box._

"_What're ya gonna tell the others?" he asked._

"_About what?" Mal stopped and asked in response._

"'_Bout why I'm dead."_

"_Hadn't thought about it," Mal said casually. Jayne could tell it was an honest answer._

"_Make somethin' up," said Jayne looking at Mal, "Don't tell 'em what I did."_

_The two men stared at each other for a few moments. Mal then reached down to the airlock controls and pressed a button. To Jayne's surprise, and relief, the outer ramp closed. Jayne looked down and sighed._

"_The next time you decide to stab me in the back, have the guts to do it to my face," Mal growled over the talk-box. Looking back at Mal and watching him leave, Jayne knew he wouldn't ever betray Mal again._

Jayne noticed he was veering off the tracks.

"Gorramit!" he muttered as he guided the Mule back over the tracks.

Jayne had to admit that being on Malcolm Reynold's crew changed him, possibly for the better. Sure, he was just as deadly with a gun, but he was more conscionable about using it. It was probably the reason why he went against every sane thought in his head to go and rescue his captain from Niska a few weeks after Ariel. It was also probably the reason why he was chasing after River right then.

"Naw, that ain't it at all," Jayne said to himself while he shook his head. The memories then fired off rapidly in his mind.

_Screams filled the cargo bay as the terrified young woman jumped out of the cryochamber._

"_It's a girl. She's cute too. 'Cept I don't think she's all there, ya know? 'Course, not all o'her has ta be."_

"_Won't stop. They'll never stop," River said trancelike, "They'll just keep coming until they get back what you took. Two by two, hands of blue. Two by two, hands of blue."_

"_How's about you shut that crazy mouth? Is that a fun game?" Jayne asked annoyed._

_The knife slashed Jayne's chest. He sat stunned for a moment, but his anger quickly overtook him and Jayne back-handedly slapped River across the face. She fell across the room. As the rest of the crew surrounded the both of them, River looked up at Jayne and said, "He looks better in red."_

_Jayne simply glared back at her while breathing heavily._

_They heard screams from the floor above. Disturbed Jayne asked softly, "What the hell is that?"_

"_Two by two, hands of blue," River whispered tremulously as she turned to run. "Two by two, hands of blue. Two by two, hands of blue. Two by two, hands of blue."_

_Simon followed River and so did Jayne, hesistantly._

"_Jayne is a girl's name," River said while tilting her head and giving Jayne a loopy smile._

"_Well, Jayne ain't a girl!" Jayne snapped back. "If she starts in on that 'girl's name' thing, I'll show her good and all I got man parts."_

_Jayne reached to put his hand down his pants, but he paused somewhat at River's expectant look._

"_Also, I can kill you with my brain," River said darkly._

_Jayne's eyes widened in fear as the young woman walked away. He wished he wasn't immobilized on the operating table._

_River shrieked. Jayne looked towards her and found her writhing on the station floor. As he ran to her, he asked, "What the hell is up? You all right? What's goin' on?"_

_River's eyes opened suddenly. She gasped, "Reavers!"_

"_River?" Mal asked._

_Jayne looked back at the blast doors and felt the pit in his stomach deepen. Nobody deserved that, not even her._

_Suddenly, the doors began to open, and Jayne expected the Reavers to flood through. To Jayne's surprise, however, all he saw was River standing in the middle of a pile of Reaver bodies. She was holding an axe and a sword, and she was covered in blood and grime. For some reason Jayne didn't understand, this look appealed to him, and he somewhat unconsciously whispered, "Well, hello sexy."_

_Jayne smiled and sat back down on the weight bench. He rested his guitar across his lap. "Your brother weren't kiddin' about your dancin'," he said to River. "Ya dance mighty fine."_

"_Thanks. You play very well, too," River replied as she joined him._

_Jayne smiled briefly, then he said apologetically, "I'm sorry I made ya cry earlier, I…"_

"_You wanted to be alone," River interrupted, "but you're such a boob."_

_Before Jayne could respond, River lightly kissed him on the cheek and said, "Thanks for the dance." Then she quickly retreated to the passenger dorms. _

_Jayne watched River leave while feeling stunned. He lightly touched his cheek, then he turned back shaking his head. "Naw, she jus' playin'."_

"_I thought you was jus' playin'," Jayne said as River started to exit the bridge._

_River stopped next to him. She turned and leaned dangerously close to him. While looking seductively into Jayne's eyes, River said softly, but forcefully, "Not playing anymore."_

_Jayne could only watch as River turned and headed back to the engine room to help Kaylee. He followed her out and watched her as she walked by the crew quarters and into the galley. Watching the gentle sway of her hips, Jayne realized something. His eyes widened as he softly said, "I'm a boob!"_

"Yeah I was a boob," Jayne said to himself. He thought he could see something in the distance down the tracks.

"Good thing, she don't give up." Jayne's mind then settled on events from two weeks earlier.

"_Relax," River said to Jayne. "You don't need to hold the controls so tightly."_

_Jayne tried to ease his grip on the shuttle controls. "I told ya this ain't a good idea, River. I ain't flown nothing in a long while."_

"_You are doing fine, Jayne. You just need to relax," River replied as she started to rub Jayne's forearms._

"_Relax!" she repeated more insistently. River was now working her hands up his arms, trying to soothe Jayne's nerves._

_It was working. Jayne settled more in his seat and a slight smile spread across his face. River's hands had moved to his shoulders. Jayne saw the ground rushing beneath the shuttle and it exhilarated him, the sense of speed. River's hands slowly massaged his neck. It had been too long for Jayne; he had forgotten how much he loved flying. River's hands then moved down to his chest._

_Feeling River's warm breath on his ear, Jayne looked away from the window and to her. She was gazing at him intently. She was so close that he noted some differences about her. He noticed that her hair was fuller than it had been, probably because she had been washing it more regularly. River was also wearing a little make-up. It wasn't much, but it did bring out her eyes and lips. Inara must have had something to do with that._

_Jayne focused on River's lips. They looked full, round, red, moist, and kissably soft. Jayne really didn't know what "kissably soft" meant, because of his rule about kissing women. Looking at River, however, Jayne wondered if he should bend that rule, just once. He honestly wanted to know what it would feel like to kiss River on the lips._

_Without a word, River leaned forward and softly placed a lingering kiss on Jayne's lips. Jayne instinctually closed his eyes and felt a warm tingling sensation surge from his lips to his toes. He then felt River pull back and he opened his eyes. There was a satisfied smile on her face. Jayne blushed. She was a reader after all. Jayne then wondered what he should do next._

_An alarm sounded. Jayne whipped his head around and saw the shuttle was losing altitude. Looking out the window, he could see they were headed for a ridge of mountains. River gripped Jayne tightly, as he jerked back the yoke and sent them into a climb. He then leveled the shuttle off once they reached their flight altitude._

"_River, what the…Jayne! What in the gorram hell are you doing there!" Mal roared as he entered the shuttle cockpit. Zoe was looking over his shoulder. Jayne had almost forgot they were back there._

_Jayne looked at Mal with the expression of a child with his hand in the cookie jar and stammered, "I…I…"_

"_It's my fault, Captain," River interrupted and Jayne looked at her with wide eyes. "Jayne said he hadn't piloted a shuttle in a while, and I thought I'd allow him some flight time on this run."_

_Jayne looked back to Mal to see if he was buying River's story._

"_You're right, lil' Albatross, it is your fault," Mal said disappointedly. "You are the pilot, and that means you're the one responsible for flying the shuttle. Not no one else. I do appreciate how you two been acting more kindly to one another these past months, but it don't mean you both can start switching up jobs. Dong Ma?"_

"_Shr ah," replied River casting her eyes down. Jayne thought it best to do the same._

_Mal continued, "Now no harm done, but River you take your seat, and Jayne I want you back helpin' Zoe with the cargo."_

_River and Jayne carefully switched positions around the pilot's seat. They exchanged apologetic glances as they transferred the yoke. When River was seated, Jayne turned to follow Zoe into the back of the shuttle. He did his best not to look at either Mal or Zoe. As he left, he heard Mal say,"Shiny! Now River, let's figure how far we've strayed…"_

_Mal had bought it. Jayne tried not to exhale too loudly with Zoe right in front of him. In fact, he realized she was right in front of him, looking at him. Jayne avoided looking at Zoe's face, and moved past her to the rear of the shuttle. He saw a couple of crates that had broken free of the netting and moved to put them back. Zoe maneuvered to the other end of the crates._

"_Captain, ain't wrong, Jayne," she said. Jayne looked at her as they grabbed the top crate. Zoe continued, "We all have noticed how you and River been getting along."_

"_Don't know what ya mean," Jayne said as they lifted the crate and set it back into place. Chills were running along his spine._

_As they grabbed the second crate, Zoe responded, "I mean you two don't fight anymore. You both seem to enjoy each other's company. Sometimes you both even go looking for each other."_

_Jayne and Zoe set the last crate into place. As Jayne began to secure the cargo netting, he said, "So we's friends. Like ya said, we like bein' together."_

"_Yes, you do," Zoe said with a knowing look._

_Her look brought Jayne to the edge of fright, but he managed to finish with the cargo net and then turned back to her._

"_I don't like what yer sayin'. We's jus' friends. Sure, she's woman, pretty and all, but she's not half as old as me. That's plumb wrong!" Jayne tried not to yell._

_Zoe looked back at Jayne with her eyes slightly wider than they would be in her standard stoic expression. She then said slowly, "Well, forget I said anything."_

_Jayne and Zoe then found places away from each other and sat in silence. Jayne had lied, but only about being friends. The last part had rung true in his heart, and he knew it. _

_The rest of the run had gone, surprisingly, without incident. They dropped off the goods, received their pay, and returned to the ship with no problems. This made everyone uneasy, so Mal ordered River to take them out of the world as quickly as possible. This made it easy for Jayne to run by the galley, grab a bunch of protein snacks, and hole up in his bunk, all unnoticed. He wanted to avoid River as much as possible._

_The problem was that Jayne couldn't forget that Zoe had said something. If she had noticed something going on between him and River, who else had? How soon would they be telling Mal or Simon about it. How soon would Jayne find himself in a rapidly depressurizing airlock or suddenly keeling over at the dinner table? It WAS wrong. He shouldn't be leading her on like that. Why had he let River touch him? He didn't let anybody touch him like that, except maybe a whore._

_Jayne's eyes widened, and he shouted, "She ain't a whore!"_

_Stifling himself, Jayne listened carefully. He heard chatter coming from the galley. The rest of the crew was at supper. Jayne sighed in relief; chances are no one heard that. He still needed to relax, and get his mind off of River. He looked around his bunk until his eyes came to rest on his gun collection. _

_That was a good idea. Cleaning his guns always calmed him. It would also take him a good portion of the night to do it. He would probably be too tired to do anything else but sleep afterwards. Plus, they looked like they needed it, too._

_Jayne set to work. He pulled out rags, tools, and cleaning oils from under his bunk. He then pulled down Vera, carefully disassembled her, cleaned each of her parts in detail, reassembled and lubed her, checked her function, and placed her back on the wall. He repeated these steps with every single gun he had, starting with the long irons and finishing with the pistols. Hours later, they were all back up on his wall, gleaming like they were new._

_Looking at his collection, Jayne was surprised to find that he was still wide awake. He didn't expect to have this much energy after such a thorough cleaning. Maybe he needed to find something else to do._

_Just as Jayne was looking around his bunk for another task to do, he heard the lock to his door unlatch. Somebody had overridden his passcode! Jayne wondered who it was, but the two bare feet that came down his ladder quickly answered that question. _

_River carefully stepped down into Jayne's bunk while carrying a plate of food. She stopped part of the way down, leaned over, and said sweetly, "We missed you at supper, so I thought I'd bring you something."_

"_Ain't hungry," Jayne replied gruffly. He turned his back to her. Jayne didn't see her scowl slightly._

_River reached the bottom of the ladder, and approached him. "You must be," she said, "You've been down here for hours."_

"_I gots snacks," Jayne said holding up a package. He realized he hadn't touched any of them._

"_Mine tastes better, and it's warm," River said invitingly._

_Jayne didn't respond. He knew she was right, but he knew giving in would lead to something else. He would just have to wait her out._

"_Jayne, I know you want it," she said more directly. This irked Jayne, but he still faced away from her. He was going to hold out as long has he could. Unfortunately, he could smell the plate of food, and it made him salivate. When his stomach audibly growled, Jayne knew he couldn't hold out anymore._

_Turning around, Jayne took the plate from River, without looking at her, and said roughly, "Stop reading my mind."_

_Sitting down on his bed, Jayne continued more softly, "It's no place for you."_

_River looked at him for a moment as he began to eat, and then ran for the ladder. Jayne hoped that she would leave, but she didn't. Instead, she shut his door and came back down. Glaring at him she said, "It didn't bother you when I was there earlier."_

"_Well, it bothers me now," Jayne replied between bites._

"_Why?" River asked intently._

"'_Cause what we did was wrong," Jayne replied strongly and finally taking a look at her. He then went back to his meal._

"_I kissed you, what was wrong with that?" River said after a pause._

"_I shouldnta let ya," Jayne replied._

"_Why not?"_

"'_Cause yer too young, that's why." Jayne looked up at her again._

"_You've been with women of my age before," River declared._

"_Don't make it right," Jayne countered. He set the now empty plate up on a cabinet next to his bed._

"_It didn't stop you then," River said pointedly._

"_It's stoppin' me now," Jayne shot back._

"_Why?"_

_Jayne looked away from River and stammered, "'Cause it's you."_

"_Liar," River said._

_Chilled, Jayne looked back at River as she continued, "It's not because of me. It's because you're afraid Zoe knows it is me."_

_Jayne hung his head._

"_But it's okay," River said in a softer tone as she lifted his chin with her fingers, "she already knows."_

"_What, you told her?" Jayne said backing away frightfully. _

"_Yes, during the Parsons run."_

_Jayne looked confused and said questioningly, "But that was two months ago. How could she…"_

"_I told her how I felt about you," River interrupted._

"_And she knew the whole time, and said nothin' to Mal?" Jayne asked._

_River nodded with a smile._

"_Why's that?"_

_River looked at the cap that Jayne's mother had knitted for him. She picked it up and said to Jayne, "She thinks that if anyone would go to this much trouble to take care of you, then there must be some good in you."_

_River then set the cap back down, and placed a hand on Jayne's chest. Looking into his eyes, she said, "I know there is."_

_Jayne backed up on his bed again, but he was running out of room. "What about yer brother?" he asked._

"_He's in love with Kaylee, and Kaylee's my friend. She's thinks it's cute how we spend time together. She thinks you're my big teddy bear," River said with a twinkle in her eye._

"_But Mal…" Jayne began to say._

"_Inara can also help with him," River said with a smirk, "He loves her, too, but won't admit it. She hopes that more unusual pairings will make Mal see that they can be together."_

_Looking at River, Jayne tried to find a flaw in her logic, but as usual, he couldn't. A thought did strike him, though, and he asked, "So, you been feelin' this way since…"_

"_Yes," River interrupted._

"_And you never say…"_

"_Nope," she said playfully shaking her head._

"_Why?"_

"_You weren't ready," River said tilting her head to the side. "Still aren't."_

_Jayne was puzzled, but followed River's lead as she gently pulled him to the edge of his bed. She then slid around behind him. She then whispered into his ear, "Close your eyes."_

_Closing his eyes, Jayne listened as River said, "Jayne, I want you to remember the first time you saw me as a woman."_

"_That's easy! It was just after ya did all that crazy flyin' to get us away from Niska," Jayne said._

"_No, Jayne," River whispered as she rubbed his neck, "it was earlier than that."_

_Jayne shook his head, but River continued, "Remember back on Mr. Universe's moon, when we were fighting off the Reavers?"_

_This made Jayne shiver slightly._

"_Do you remember when I closed the blast doors and was trapped on the other side?" River asked._

"_Yes," Jayne said regretfully._

"_Why does that make you feel so bad?"_

"'_Cause you didn't deserve it." Jayne said._

"_Why?"_

"'_Cause you was tryin' to save us, and I thought you was gonna die for it."_

"_And?"_

"_And I wanted to help ya, but I couldn't."_

"_Then what happened?"_

"_Well," Jayne started, "Mal comes back and tells us the job's done, and asks about you, and we all looks back at the blast doors. Then the blast doors open and you is standin' there."_

"_How did that make you feel?" River asked._

"_Good."_

"_And?"_

_Jayne continued, "And then the Feds broke in and told us to drop our guns, and…"_

"_No, shh, shh, shh," River whispered intently, "Go back to when you saw me. You said something."_

_Furrowing his brow, Jayne strained to remember, but it was difficult. He visually saw the Feds back up and the wall reform behind River. He refocused on her in his mind._

"_I was covered in sweat, blood and grime," River continued, "It made you say something. You said it very softly. Can you hear yourself saying it?"_

_Straining a bit more, Jayne focused on the sounds of the memory. The words then slowly escaped his lips, "Well, hello sexy."_

_He felt River slide around him and straddle his waist. Jayne opened his eyes to see her smiling back at him._

"_Hello lover," she said._

The rear of the train was now coming into view. Jayne gritted his teeth, and gunned the throttle.

"Ain't no one gonna take her away from me, not ever!" Jayne growled.

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More to come... 


	3. Bad Day

**Disclaimer**: All still apply. Joss is boss, I'm just borrowing. No money in it, just reviews and joy. Just trying to keep the show alive in my own way.

**Author's Note**: A little long, but I hope this brings everyone up to date with the story. I had fun writing it.

**

* * *

**

**Bad Day**

River was huddled against Jayne in his bed. Jayne's massive arms and torso all but covered her lithe form, serving almost as her blanket. A single white sheet covered both of their bare forms from the waist down. Her smooth white skin contrasted the tanned roughness of his. Both of their faces bore the look of contented slumber. It was morning on Serenity, and almost time for them to wake, but not yet.

River's eyes suddenly opened wide. Unwrapping herself from Jayne's arms, she slowly sat up and stared. She didn't actually stare at anything in particular. It just seemed as if she was looking through the walls of the ship for something. Her head stopped once she seemed to find whatever it was she seemed to be looking for. She cocked her head to the side for a moment, and then her eyebrows rose in recognition. She swiftly turned to the still sleeping Jayne and started shaking his shoulder, saying urgently, "Jayne! Jayne!"

Jayne stirred for a moment, but did not wake. River shook him harder using both of her hands on his shoulder this time and yelling, "Jayne! Wake up!"

Snorting, Jayne lifted his head and half opened his eyes, saying a little too loudly, "Huh? Wha…wha' 'tis it?"

Turning his head to River, Jayne opened his eyes a little more and a broad smile stretched across his face. He reached out a hand and cupped the side of River's face. He said, "Mornin', sexy."

River reached up and held Jayne's hand against her face. Looking calm, she said, "Lover, Simon is awake."

Jayne looked at River curiously and asked, "That's okay, ain't it?"

"No," she said shaking her head, "He is awake and he is looking for me."

Alarmed, Jayne asked, "Why? What for? I thought he was done worryin' on you."

River looked in the general direction of Simon's position outside the room and then looked back at Jayne. "He wants to tell me something, something important."

She looked away again, and Jayne tried to follow her eyes. She continued, "He asked Kaylee a question, a very important question."

Swiveling her head back to Jayne, River said excitedly, "He asked her to marry him!"

Jayne's eyes widened and he said slowly, "Well that's good, but…"

"He woke up early to tell me, but I wasn't in my room. He checked the infirmary, the cargo bay, shuttle two, and the galley. He's worried now. Not many more places I could…," River blinked, then said more insistently, "…_should_ be."

Jayne's eyes had grown wide as River listed most of the other sections of the ship. Thinking as fast as his sleep addled mind would let him, he said, "Well, we still can getcha on the bridge."

The sound of quick footsteps passing outside of Jayne's bunk and heading up to the bridge nullified that thought. Still, River shook her head and said, "It's too late." She looked in the direction of the bridge.

Down to his last desirable option, Jayne hurriedly said as he sat up, "' Nara 's shuttle! Yeah, you been spendin' some time with her. You jus' say ya been with her all night."

Shaking her head, River said resignedly, "Simon just thought the same thing. He's having Zoe call her right now."

"Tai-kong suo-yo duh shing-chiou sai-jin wuh duh pee-goo!" Jayne exclaimed as he lowered his head and shut his eyes tightly. He beat his fist against the mattress.

River turned back to Jayne, cupped the side of his face with her hand, and said comfortingly, "Distress is not necessary. We knew this would happen. Secrets are difficult to keep, but we have allies."

Jayne rolled over and swung his legs off the bed with a sigh. "I was jus' hopin' we wouldn' hafta cause a fight, 'tween Mal and Simon and everybody. We's all been happy."

River moved up behind Jayne and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Resting her head on his shoulder and speaking gently into his ear, River said, "The Captain and Simon will be upset, but they will accept our situation in time. The crew is strong enough to withstand their grumpiness for that period."

"How long will that be?" Jayne asked rhetorically.

"Four days," River answered simply. Jayne turned his head and looked at her incredulously. Looking back, River said, "It's the longest period of time the Captain can stay angry. Simon can only last two."

Then she tilted her head to the side and gave Jayne one of her loopy little smiles as she said, "Besides, Kaylee will sabotage the engine until Simon and the Captain promise not to harm you."

"Ya think she'll do that?" Jayne asked humorously.

"I know it," River answered confidently.

Jayne laughed. "Good thing we're landin' today. Sure hate to be stuck again."

Jayne's look at River became more meaningful. "We's all been happy. I been real happy and I don't want none of that to go away."

"It won't," River assured.

"You's the best thing that done happened to me, ya know," Jayne continued slowly, "and I want to do right by ya, and since your brother's now thinkin' a marryin', I…"

River put her fingertips to Jayne's lips and he stopped speaking immediately. There was a pause, and River said, "We can talk about this later, because…" She turned and looked at the hatch. There were three sharp knocks, and she looked back at Jayne, saying, "It's time."

"Jayne!" a voice said through the hatch. It was Mal.

"Yeah, Mal!" Jayne shouted back calmly, which belied the queasiness in his stomach.

"It seems that River has gone and made herself hidden," Mal said, "The Doc and I was wonderin' if you might come out and help us find her."

Jayne was pulling on his pants as River picked up her dress from the middle of the floor. "Why me?" Jayne asked with feigned gruffness.

There was a pause. "Well, the two of you have been getting along recently, so we thought you might know some of the places she might hide."

River pulled her dress down over her body and then looked over her shoulder at Jayne. She smiled and winked at him. Jayne wondered why she had to look so sexy doing that. Forcing himself back into reality, Jayne pulled on his shirt and said, "Alright, I'll be right out."

While slipping on his boots, Jayne looked to his sidearm hanging on the wall. River placed a hand on his shoulder, and whispered, "You won't need it."

Jayne looked back at her, and she continued, "Also, let me go first."

Rising, Jayne nodded, and kissed her lightly on the lips. They hugged each other for a moment, and then River led the way to the ladder. River climbed up, opened the hatch, and exited meeting the gasps of everyone who stood outside. Jayne paused for a moment then followed.

* * *

Exiting his bunk, Jayne seriously expected to have a flying fist impact squarely on his jaw once he turned around, but that did not happen. Instead, Jayne turned around and saw the rest of the crew standing in the passageway. River stood in front of him facing Mal and Simon. Simon was to the right of Mal, and Zoe was to the right of Simon. Kaylee and Inara were on the other side of Mal with Inara being closer. Mal looked contemptuous, Simon looked confused, Zoe and Inara looked calm, and Kaylee looked shocked. 

Through his clenched jaw, Mal somehow managed to ask Jayne, "Jayne, what in the gorram sphincter of hell was _my_ pilot doing in _your_ bunk?"

Jayne opened his mouth to speak, but River beat him to it. "I was sleeping with him."

Mal didn't even look away, but continued to glower at Jayne amid the renewed gasps of everyone else. Veins popped out of Mal's neck and he clenched his fists until his knuckles were white. Jayne tried to remain calm, but he still shivered slightly from Mal's glare.

Leaning to take a step towards Jayne, Mal was held back by Simon. "Captain," Simon said, "I'm sure she didn't mean it the way you think. River may have simply meant that she was only sleeping in Jayne's bunk, not that she was sleeping _with_ him."

Rolling her eyes at him, River said to Simon, "I was sleeping with him the way you sleep with Kaylee."

Kaylee made a small noise before covering her mouth and turning a bright shade of red. Simon likewise blushed, but maintained his gaze with River. Zoe carefully moved behind Simon, as Inara stepped closer to Mal. Simon slowly shook his head saying, "Nooo…"

"Yes," River said sharply with an equally sharp nod.

Simon was dumbfounded for a moment, and then he looked at Jayne, who by this time was looking back at him. Rage quickly built on Simon's face and his body tensed. Seeing this, Zoe grabbed Simon's arms and locked them behind his back. Mal tried to use this opportunity to renew his advance against Jayne, but Inara threw herself in front of him.

"Mal, no," she said calmly but forcefully.

Looking down at Inara, Mal asked, "Why in hell not?"

"They didn't do anything wrong," Inara said bolstering herself against his heated glare.

"They didn't!" Simon shouted as he struggled futilely against Zoe. "Jayne had sex with River, a seriously traumatized little _girl_! Can you imagine what this will do to her! How far it'll set her back!"

"Fei hua, Simon!" Kaylee shouted silencing him. "She ain't lookin' upset about what they done, and you also been sayin' how she's much better 'cause of him."

Kaylee then stepped beside Inara and said to Mal, "I'm with ' Nara . Ain't nothin' wrong."

From Kaylee and Inara, Mal turned his head to Zoe, and sternly asked, "Zoe?"

Zoe looked at Mal, then forced herself around Simon before releasing him and taking a stand beside River. "I agree," she said calmly. "Nothing's wrong."

Both Mal and Simon looked at the defiant wall of women between them and Jayne in silent disbelief. Jayne did so as well, wanting to say something, but not sure what. It was Simon who spoke next.

"Are you all _insane_!" he raved. "This is Jayne Cobb! The Man-Ape gone wrong! The power hungry lunatic who is constantly trying to take over the ship! How can you possibly defend him?"

Ignoring Simon, Zoe said to Mal, "It's a little crowded in here, sir. I suggest we move somewhere more appropriate, say, dining area?"

Simon tried to say something more before Mal clapped a hand down on his shoulder and nodded at Zoe. "Dining area."

* * *

Jayne and River entered the dining area together holding hands. They were followed by Kaylee, Inara, and Zoe. Simon and Mal entered last. Jayne sat at the head of the table nearest the engine room as River sat to his right continuing to hold his hand. Kaylee sat next to River, followed by Inara, and Zoe sat on Jayne's left. Simon took his seat across from Inara, while Mal stood at the head of the table with his arms folded. 

"The first thing I want to know," Mal said in a loud, controlling voice pointed at Jayne, "is how long this has been going on between you two."

"Two weeks," River said.

"Thank you, Albatross, but I prefer to hear it from Jayne himself," Mal said in a softer tone. He looked back at Jayne and asked resuming his previous voice, "Is that true?"

"Yeah, Mal, it's true," Jayne admitted.

"So, what you're sayin'," Mal said as he took a few pensive steps to his left, "is for the past _two_ _weeks_, you both been _sneakin'_ around _my_ ship, and, ah, _engagin'_ in this activity."

"Yeah," Jayne said expectantly.

"Why!" Mal barked as he shot Jayne a menacing glare.

"Well, 'cause we knowed you'd be actin' like this," Jayne quickly answered.

"Like what?" Mal asked turning back to face Jayne.

"Like I done ruined your prized _possession_," Jayne said struggling with the last word.

Mal was taken aback. Shaking his head he said, "I most certainly am not…"

"You are," Inara interrupted. "You have been treating River like your own personal good luck charm ever since the Miranda Wave. You act like she belongs to you and you alone."

"I do not, I _have_ not," Mal said indignantly glaring at Inara.

"Albatross, Mal," she responded. "It's supposed to be a ship's good luck, remember?"

Mal furrowed his brow at Inara as he tried to find a response. Inara looked back at him expectantly. Then Mal turned and stepped back over to his seat, muttering something under his breath.

"There's another issue here," Simon said heatedly. "Jayne is taking advantage of River."

"I ain't takin' 'vantage of no one," Jayne growled matching Simon's glare.

"She's a teenage girl!" Simon shouted.

"I'm a woman!" River shouted back.

"You don't even know what that means," Simon admonished as he turned to River.

"Woman," River said calmly. "A female human that has reached full natural growth or development."

There was silence, and then Kaylee asked sternly, "Well, Doctor?"

"Well, what?" Simon asked uncomfortably.

"Has she stopped growin'?" Kaylee asked defiantly. "You're her doctor, you should know."

Simon hung his head. "Yes," he said lowly.

"An' I happen to know she's been gettin' her 'monthly visits'," Kaylee continued. "So's I think that takes care of development."

Mal visibly cringed at the phase "monthly visits". Simon looked up and tried to regain the offensive.

"But you're only speaking physically, not emotionally," he pleaded.

"Emotionally," Inara cut in, "she has been stable enough to pilot the ship, and even well enough to get us out of some difficult situations."

"An' I don't think a one of us has seen her have an episode since Miranda," Kaylee chimed in. Everyone motioned their agreement, albeit Simon and Mal did so grudgingly.

"But Jayne," Simon ventured trying a new approach, "how could she possibly…"

"How could she like such a ge zhen hundan?" Kaylee asked spitefully.

"Hey!" Jayne said indignantly.

Kaylee continued unabated, "Well, I dunno. Could be somethin' like an upright Core doctor decidin' on marryin' a lowly ship mechanic from the Rim."

There were astounded looks on the faces of Inara, Mal and Zoe. Simon slumped back in his chair realizing that he had done it again. Kaylee maintained a seething glare at Simon. Inara placed a hand on Kaylee's shoulder and gently pulled her back into her chair. Looking at Simon, Inara said, "It's likely your sister knows us all better than we know ourselves."

Inara looked to River and Jayne, and continued, "I imagine she sees something in Jayne that the rest of us are unable to."

Jayne and River then smiled and nodded at one another. Mal finally turned back to the table and looked at Zoe. "Zoe," he stated, "you knew about this."

Looking up from the spot on the table that she had been staring at for most of the time, Zoe said, "Yes, sir."

"And you didn't feel the need to tell _anyone_?" Mal asked as he placed a hand on Simon's shoulder.

"Didn't feel it was anyone's business but theirs, sir," Zoe answered giving Mal a hard look.

Mal bit back anything else he was planning to say. He looked around the table, nodded to himself, then straightened up. "Alright," he said, "fair to say we've all learned some things this mornin' that none of us were plannin' to. Clearly, none of us is feelin' too happy about it, neither. But, we're going to be breakin' into New Canaan 's atmo here in little more than an hour and we all got plenty of work to do."

Looking at River, Mal asked, "River, do you think you can tear yourself away from Jayne long enough to get us down?"

River looked up and nodded. Mal then continued, "Good, then I need you on the bridge."

Placing a light kiss on Jayne's lips, River stood up and exited towards the bridge. Simon cringed which caught Mal's notice. "Doctor," Mal said, "Jayne and I will be dropping of MacGrude's cut once we get down. Now, we've dealt with him before, so we know him to be a mite shifty. It wouldn't hurt to have the infirmary prepped just in case."

Simon gave a look to Jayne at the mention of 'just in case'. Mal clapped his hand on Simon's shoulder, and glared at him. "'Cause if something happened to Jayne, there's no tellin' what your sister might do."

Looking back fearfully at Mal, Simon gulped, and then nodded. He rose slowly and left through the aft exit not daring to take a look at anyone else. Kaylee scowled after him. Picking up on this, Mal said to Kaylee, "How's the port thruster on Inara's shuttle?"

Looking startled at Mal, Kaylee said, "Nearly fixed!"

"Well, I think she needs it all fixed before she heads out to her appointments," Mal said glancing at Inara. "You do have appointments, don't you?"

"As if that is any of your business, but yes, I do," Inara said in her normally cool manner.

"Then I suppose you'll be needin' to prepare for them," Mal said with a sarcastic look.

"Of course," Inara said indifferently as she nodded to Kaylee. They both rose and left through the forward exit. Mal watched them leave.

"So what d'ya want me and Zoe doin'," Jayne asked.

Snapping out of his reverie, Mal turned back to the remaining members of his crew in the room. "You both prep the Mule," he said. "I'll be on the bridge watchin' us land."

"Sir," Zoe said as Mal turned to leave.

"Zoe," Mal said as he made an impassive look at her.

"Sir, we need to pick up some supplies while were down. I'd like to head into town when we get a chance."

Mal thought for a moment and then looked back at Zoe. "You can pick them up while Jayne and I are out," he said, "and take River with you. She won't be doin' much 'til ' Nara gets back."

* * *

Later, Jayne was sitting in the cargo bay strumming on his guitar. The landing had gone flawlessly much to River's credit. Kaylee had fixed Inara's shuttle in time for Inara to fly off to her appointments. Mal and Jayne met up with MacGrude, and after some "negotiation", convinced him to take the percentage that he had already agreed to. Simon applied the necessary weaves to the minor cuts and scrapes that Mal and Jayne received. Inara had waved them that she was on her way back. They were just waiting on River and Zoe to return from town. 

Footsteps came up from behind Jayne, and he looked to see Simon and Kaylee walking up from the passenger dorms. Simon moved somewhat reluctantly, but Kaylee pushed him along encouragingly. Turning to them, he set down his guitar on the weight bench and asked, "What're you two doin'?"

With a final push on Simon, Kaylee said, "Simon's come to apologize."

"Kaylee, I…" Simon started hesitantly.

"Simon!" Kaylee said to him with an earnest look.

Simon paused for a moment and the docking arms for Shuttle One could be heard extending. Looking up, Kaylee said, "Ooo, ' Nara 's back."

Looking at Simon, she said, "Now you apologize 'fore I get back."

Simon nodded and she ran off to climb the forward staircase. Simon turned to Jayne slowly and sighed a couple of times before speaking.

"Well, Jayne," he said heavily, "I've been thinking about what we said this morning, and I realize that River is not a child anymore. She also has been much better emotionally, and I think you have something to do with that."

Jayne smile at this, and Simon felt encouraged as he continued, "I think she has had a positive affect on you, too. You have been much easier to work with, and I don't think you have called me something derogatory in the last month."

"Derogo-what?" Jayne asked.

"A bad name," Simon explained. "I'm just saying that I'm sorry I was upset with you this morning."

"S'alright, doc," Jayne said as he placed a hand on Simon's shoulder. "Think I mighta done the same if'n I caught some fool ruttin' around with my sister."

Simon then smiled broadly and said, "Well, I guess this has an added benefit for you."

Jayne looked at him curiously and asked, "How's that?"

"At least you don't have to pay River to be nice to you," Simon laughed.

Anger flared in Jayne's eyes as he hurled his right fist around and caught Simon's left cheek. Simon spun to the ground as Jayne yelled, "She ain't a whore!"

"Simon!" Kaylee screamed as she ran to him from behind Jayne. Inara followed and stood between the two men.

"What happened?" Inara asked Jayne.

"Doc, called his own sis' a whore," Jayne said angrily.

"I did not," Simon said weakly as Kaylee helped him up. "I just said that he didn't have to pay her to be nice to him."

"Near enough," Jayne said. Inara rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Oh, Simon," Kaylee said comfortingly, "where'd he hit ya?"

Simon pointed to his left cheek.

"Did he hit ya on the other side?" Kaylee asked.

"No," Simon said as he shook his head.

"Good," Kaylee said. Then she slapped his right cheek and stalked off to the passenger dorms. Simon stood stunned for a moment, and then chased after Kaylee pleading profusely.

"Jayne!" Mal shouted as he came down the forward stairs into the cargo bay.

"He started it!" Jayne yelled defensively.

"Jayne, get Vera," Mal said as he approached.

"What's wrong?" Inara asked.

"River and Zoe aren't back yet," Mal said seriously.

"Maybe they's got held up getting the supplies," Jayne offered.

"Not likely," Mal said looking at Inara, "I've been tryin' to raise them since you called. Inara, did you fly over the town on your way in?"

"Yes, Mal," she said nervously. Jayne sprinted off to his bunk.

"Did you see anyplace where someone's likely to get bushwacked?"

"Well, it's mostly flat grassland," Inara said desperately trying to remember the details of her flight. Inara's eyes then went wide with fright as she said, "But there was a small stand of trees just outside of the town. It was next to the road, they would have walked right by it."

* * *

"What d'ya think it is, Mal?" Jayne asked as Mal drove the Mule down the road. "Slavers?" 

"Don't think so, Jayne," Mal said. "I don't think slavers could've got the drop on Zoe, let alone River."

Jayne thought for a moment, then asked, "How's someone get the drop on a reader?"

"Don't rightly know," Mal anwered as the stand of trees came into view, "but I imagine we'll find out."

Jayne readied Vera as Mal increased the throttle. They approached the stand at high speed, then stopped suddenly and jumped from the Mule. Jayne and Mal then sprinted with guns drawn to the edge of the trees, taking cover behind two of them.

"See anything?" Mal asked Jayne.

"Nothin'…wait, there!" Jayne said as he pointed to a prone form lying further inside the trees.

Mal saw it and ran over while Jayne covered him. It was Zoe. She was laying amidst strewn boxes and canned goods.

"Zoe, Zoe!" Mal shouted as he shook her. "Can you hear me?"

Zoe didn't respond. Jayne ran up as Mal turned her over. "Tamade," Jayne said, "She's beat all to hell."

Mal check her for a pulse. Looking at Jayne he said, "She's got a pulse, but it's weak."

Jayne, however, was more interested the ground. "She was dragged here," he said.

"What?" Mal asked and watched Jayne as he followed a trail back to the road.

Jayne stopped and turned back to Mal. "They fought here!" He yelled.

"Who?" Mal asked.

"Zoe and a man," Jayne responded, "Heavy. He came from behind this tree."

"What about River?" Mal asked.

Jayne continued up to the road. "She fell here!"

"She what?" Mal asked incredulously.

"Fell!" Jayne shouted back and looked down again. Then he said, "They picked her up."

"They?" Mal asked completely confused.

"Heavy guy and another. He's lighter," Jayne said before walking off the road. He walked around a few trees then stopped. Looking for a moment, Jayne ran to Mal.

"They had a wagon," Jayne said. "Maybe some local helpin' 'em out. They was waitin' over there. If we go, we can catch 'em."

"Jayne!" Mal shouted irately, "Have you forgotten about Zoe right here?"

Jayne looked down at Zoe and dumbly said, "Oh, yeah…"

"Now help me get her to the Mule," Mal ordered as he looped his arms underneath Zoe's shoulders. Jayne wrapped an arm around both of Zoe's legs, and the two men lifted her. Mal led the way back to the Mule.

"What's your plan then?" Jayne asked Mal as they cleared the trees.

Mal answered, "Get Zoe back to the ship, have the doctor bring her around, and find out who's dealin' the cards here."

Looking at Zoe's condition, a thought hit Jayne. "What if the doc can't bring her 'round?" he asked. "What then?"

"Doc'll bring her around," Mal said sternly. "He's got to."

Jayne stopped as they were within reach of the Mule. "Maybe he can't, though," Jayne said strongly. "Maybe she's too far gone for him to help."

"What are you saying, Jayne?" Mal asked angrily.

"I'm sayin', Mal," Jayne said as reasonably as he could, "that if we gotta choice between a dyin' woman and a fresh trail, I say we take the trail."

"I ain't leavin' her," Mal growled.

"I ain't askin' ya to," Jayne said. "Let me go after River."

"Jayne, I ain't losin' more crew to these hundans. Now help me put Zoe in the Mule."

Jayne dropped Zoe's legs and stepped towards the Mule. Mal put the rest of Zoe down quickly and carefully before jumping in front of Jayne and shouting, "What the hell are you doin'!"

"Goin' after River!" Jayne shouted back. "I ain't leavin' her, neither!"

Mal grabbed for Jayne's coat, but Jayne blocked his arms and punched Mal across his jaw. Mal tumbled to the ground. Jayne stood shocked for a moment. He then turned to Zoe and reached into her coat. He picked out her talk box and noted that it was still working. He then climbed into the Mule and started it up.

Suddenly, there was a metallic click to his left. Jayne froze as he heard Mal say, "You try to take that Mule, and I will kill you sure as I'm standin' here."

"Mal, I gotta do this," Jayne said keeping his eyes forward. "I can't just let 'em take her, she's the best thing that ever done happened to me. She's the first woman I knowed that ever wanted Jayne Cobb for Jayne Cobb. And she wasn't ashamed of me. God Mal, she makes me want to do things right even if'n I don't know how, and I want to do right, now. Mal, you can call the ship and get ' Nara 's shuttle here, it's faster anyhow. Doc can come with her, too. I got Zoe's talk-thing and I'll tell ya what I find."

Mal continued to hold his gun on Jayne.

Jayne slowly turned his head and stared down the barrel. Calmly he said, "This is how it is. I love her, Mal. If you don't want me to go after her, then shoot me."

There was a pause as they stared at one another.

"Well," Jayne said as he hit the throttle and sped away. Over the roar of the engine would have sworn he heard Mal say, "Good luck."


	4. Breaking In

**Disclaimer**: All previous ones still apply. Joss is Boss. I'm just borrowing. No money in it for me, just reviews. Please write some. Thank you for all of those who have.

**Author's Note**: Written in one shot, I hope there aren't any gaping holes. I also hope you train buffs don't skewer me. Not much dialogue, so it's pretty short.

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* * *

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**Breaking In**

The back of the train approached steadily. From the speeding Mule, Jayne Cobb eyed it warily. When he was about ten feet from the rear car, he nudged the Mule to the left as he leaned the same direction trying to see something. He then nudged the Mule to the right, straining to see something, anything. Gritting his teeth and growling, he moved the Mule back behind the train.

"Gorramit!" he cursed, "Nothin' to grab on to."

Jayne continued to stare at the back of the train car looking for anything that might be of use. The smooth steel paneling, however, seemed to silently mock him in this mental exercise. There weren't any hand rails, ladders or doors. It seemed to Jayne that there wasn't anything there that would allow him onboard. The rear two windows seemed to him like uncaring eyes on a masked face.

Frustrated, Jayne picked up his right hand and pretended to poke at those eyes. Then the expression on his face became more thoughtful, and he looked down at the parking hook on the Mule. Looking back at the rear of the train, Jayne said to himself, "Yeah, might work."

Unslinging Vera from his back, Jayne curled the rifle under his right arm as he steered the Mule with his left. Sighting through the scope, Jayne carefully squeezed Vera's trigger, sending off a burst of bullets that shot out the right rear window. Satisfied, he set Vera down and drove the Mule up to the rear of the train. Jayne then raised the parking hook and hooked it through the broken window. As he pulled the lever to lock the Mule against the back of the train, Jayne heard a large metal groan. Freezing from a moment, Jayne looked everything over before uneasily saying, "Well, should hold."

After turning off the Mule's engines, Jayne reslung Vera to his back, and shimmied up the parking arm to the window. The additional creaks and groans coming from the back of the train car further unnerved him. At the window, Jayne carefully looked inside. He saw a variety of metal, wood, and plastic boxes stacked around a central pathway. The car was lowly lit by a few lights on the ceiling causing quite a few shadows. Jayne couldn't see any people, however, so he cleared the rest of the broken glass with his revolver before entering.

Jayne entered the train car head first, and, while looking down, he saw an old rusted tool box below the window. Once his torso was inside, he held on to the edge of the window frame, bent over at the waist, and flipped himself the rest of the way in while landing his feet on top of the tool box. He then jumped down into a crouch and drew his revolver. There had been fresh footprints on the tool box before he entered.

Silently, Jayne moved along the path between the stacks of boxes and crates. There were plenty of places for someone to hide in the dimly lit car, and Jayne didn't want anyone surprising him while he was trying to rescue River. As he approached the corner of a couple of stacked crates, he noticed a gap between them and another stack of boxes. Pausing next to the corner, Jayne heard shallow gasps. Jayne then silently backed up, holstered his revolver, and stepped noisily forward.

A yell burst forth from the shadows followed by wrench held by a thin arm. Jayne deftly caught the arm with his left hand and grasped the neck of the young man who followed with his right. He then swung his attacker hard against a stack of crates on the opposite wall. The young man cried out in pain and dropped the wrench. Switching hands on his neck, Jayne drew his revolver and pointed it at the young man.

"Who're you?" Jayne asked menacingly.

The young man raised his hands and closed his eyes as he turned his head away from the barrel of the revolver. "I'm the engineer," he said frightfully.

Jayne looked the young man over and asked, "Ain't ya kinda young to be runnin' a train?"

"It's, it's a freight train, cargo," the engineer stuttered, "It's mostly automated."

"Automated?" Jayne sneered. "Means it runs itself, so what're you here for?"

Jayne pressed his revolver against the engineer's cheek. The young man shivered and answered, "To wave the station every hour. I let them know where the train is in case something happens."

"When's the last time ya waved 'em?" Jayne asked urgently.

The engineer carefully looked at the chronopiece on his left wrist before looking away again and shakily saying, "Thirty minutes ago."

Jayne lowered his revolver down to the engineer's chest. "So ya got half an hour 'fore ya gotta wave 'em again, right?"

"No," the young man stated.

Jayne looked confused. "What! What d'ya mean?"

The young man continued looking away from Jayne. "I'm not waving them again. I'm not running the train anymore."

Jayne still looked confused. "So who's runnin' it then?"

"The two men in the first car. I was told to let them take over when they got on," the young man answered. Jayne noticed the young engineer's eyes were bloodshot, he was sweaty, and his fingers twitched.

Jayne patted the pockets on the young engineer's overalls. "So why ya back here?"

The young man continued to twitch. "They told me to stay far away. I really didn't want to be near them. They're creepy. Wearing blue gloves. I got as far away as I could."

"Anyone else on the train?"

"No, just the two men, me, and now you."

Jayne noticed the man was warm to the touch even through his clothing. It wasn't very warm in the car, however. In fact, there seemed to be a chill in the air. "What're ya on?"

The young man shot a frightened look towards Jayne. "Nothing!"

"Yer lyin'!" Jayne could see the flushness in the young man's cheeks. He holstered his revolver and grabbed the young man's collar with both hands. "I knows when a man's doped, so don't lie ta me."

"It's, it's just something to keep me awake," the engineer pleaded.

"Stims, huh?" Jayne thought for a moment and then held out one of his hands while using the other to hold on to the man's collar. "Hand 'em over."

"But I need them," the engineer continued to plead.

Jayne shook the man hard. "I need 'em more! Now hand 'em over!"

Reluctantly, the engineer opened a zippered pocket on his left sleeve and pulled out two small injectors. Jayne snatched the injectors from the young man's hands and stuffed them into his jacket. He then asked the engineer, "How do I get in the first car without those men knowin'?"

"Wh,wh,why do you want to do that?" The young man tried to back out of Jayne's grip, but couldn't.

"'Cause they got somethin' o'mine, and I wants it back. Now tell me how ta get in there 'fore I decide to use yer head to bust the door down." Jayne started to haul the young man to the front of the car.

The young engineer dug in his heels. "Wait! Wait! There's a way! The maintenance tube!"

Jayne turned back. "Th' what?"

The young man caught his breath. "It's a tube that runs under each car. They connect through the sleeve between each car."

"How's I get to it?" Jayne asked.

The young man pointed to a panel in the floor near the door and Jayne's eyes followed. "There are two access panels, one near each door. You'll need a socket wrench to open it."

Jayne looked back. "And when I need ta get in, I ask them to open up?" he asked sarcastically.

"No!" the engineer replied. "The bolts are slotted on the bottom, so you can use a screwdriver."

Jayne looked at the young man cautiously. He unholstered his revolver as he released his grip on the engineer, and said, "Show me."

The engineer retreated to the tool box by the rear window. The young man opened the box and pulled out a socket wrench, and an attachment that looked like a long, thin flathead screwdriver. He then moved to a square metal panel in the floor that was near him. Using the socket wrench, he quickly removed the four bolts holding the panel down and lifted the panel. Then he picked up one of the bolts and showed Jayne how the screwdriver blade fit in the bottom end. Jayne approached slowly and looked down the hole that the engineer was crouching beside. It was dark, but Jayne could tell it didn't go all the way through.

Jayne gave the engineer a satisfied look. "Time for you to get off."

The young man blinked. "You're not going throw me from the train?"

Jayne snatched the tools from the engineer's hands and then led with his revolver. "If ya keep whinin' like that, I will. Now get over by the window."

The young man reluctantly complied. Jayne motioned him to stand on the tool box and look out. "Think ya can drive that?" Jayne asked. Looking at the Mule, the young man nodded.

Jayne pulled out his talk-box and put it in the young man's hands. "Alright, ya take it and get clear a the train. When ya done that, ya call Malcolm Reynolds on that talker there and tell 'im where yer at. Ya got it? Malcolm Reynolds!"

The young man looked at the talk-box, then to Jayne, and nodded. "Malcolm Reynolds."

"And don'tcha think about runnin' off, 'cause if ya do, I'll find ya kill ya like I shoulda done right here." The young man nodded more hastily this time.

Turning back to the window, the young man hesitated. "It doesn't look safe out there."

Jayne cocked his revolver. "No safer in here. Now git!"

The young man pulled himself up through the window with Jayne's help and then crawled out. Jayne stepped up on the tool box and looked out the window to see the young engineer shimmying down the parking arm to the Mule. Continuing to watch, Jayne saw the young man power up the Mule and unhook the parking arm. Then the Mule drifted away off the tracks into a large dirt plain and came to a stop.

Uncocking his revolver, Jayne stepped off the tool box and headed to the front door. Having followed the train for some time, he knew that there were ten cars behind the engine. Still, he approached each door cautiously, just in case the engineer had lied about the number of people on the train, or if one of River's blue-handed friends hand decided to check up on the engineer.

Jayne paused in one of the cars. "Two by two, hands of blue?" he asked himself before shaking his head and continuing on.

When Jayne reached the first car, he noticed a strong light emanating through the frosted glass door. He knelt beside it and listened. He could hear hard soles clicking against the wood floor on the other side of the door. Having confirmed they were inside, Jayne moved carefully back into the second car and silently shut the door. He then removed the tools he received from the engineer and started to work on the access panel to the maintenance tube. Once the panel was off, Jayne lowered himself into the tube and replaced the panel over his head. He hoped no one would notice the bolts were missing, if they came looking.

It was dark inside the tube, but Jayne could see a few rays of light coming in through vents spaced along the shaft. These helped him to know when he was passing through the sleeve and finally underneath the first car. It was also very cramped, so he had to take off Vera and move with her in front of him. When he was underneath the rear access panel of the first car, Jayne lifted his head to listen to the conversation between the two men inside.

"The subject's blood sample indicates increased hormonal activity," one male voice said.

"Noted. We will need to apply regression therapy," another male voice responded.

There was a pause, before the first voice announced, "The subject's hymen has been ruptured."

"Then it is confirmed, the subject was sexually active," the second voice said. "Further neural stripping will be implemented."

This turned Jayne's stomach. They were talking about River like she was some machine that they were going to fix. Their hands were on her. Touching her and probing her for their own selfish needs. He was about to pound on the access panel with is bare fists before he heard one of the men say, "We have an intruder."

Jayne paused. "Institute countermeasures."

Jayne heard one of the men exit to the rear and the other leave through the front. The car was empty except for River overhead. Jayne quickly set to work undoing the bolts on the panel from below. Once the panel was off, Jayne pulled himself up into the car and looked around. The men were definitely gone.

Standing up, Jayne saw two folding chairs next to a collapsible table that had a computer tablet and a bag that resembled Simon's med-kit on top of it. On the opposite wall there was a squat wooden crate that had the Blue Sun logo and the words "Biological Specimen" painted on the outside. The crate had its top removed and Jayne could see River lying in a metal coffin inside the crate. As he knelt beside her, she looked to him like she was sleeping , but it wasn't the happy, contented sleep he had seen on her some mornings. She looked troubled, like she knew she was asleep and was trying desperately to wake up.

A thought hit Jayne. "Hold on, sexy. I'm here and I got somethin' to help you fight the stuff they put in ya."

Setting Vera down beside him, Jayne pulled out one of the stim injectors and looked for needle marks on River's arm. He found a small circular bruise in the middle of the crease of her left elbow. He took a deep breath as he placed the needle of the injector over it and pressed the needle in. He felt the needle go in and the injector react. Then he pulled the needle out and let the injector fall to River's side.

The train car lurched, causing Vera to slide to the floor. Jayne looked around, and after seeing nothing, he started to shake River. "C'mon girl, ya gotta wake up, so's I can getcha outta here."

River remained unconscious despite Jayne's pleas. After some more shaking, Jayne pulled out the other injector. "Alright girl," Jayne said, "I'm guessin' ya need s'more help."

The front door slid open and a heavy-set man in a dark pinstriped suit, gray shirt, and blue gloves stepped in. Surprised, Jayne looked at him, dropped the injector, and reached for Vera. The heavy-set man ran in, stepped on Jayne's rifle, and kicked the mercenary across the face. This sent Jayne crashing back against the chairs and table on the opposite wall. Jayne then tried to reach for his revolver, but found his arm being twisted behind his back. Looking back, he saw the rear door closing and a thinner man in a dark suit twisting his arm.

The thinner man looked at the heavy-set man and said, "Countermeasures have been instituted."


	5. Thrilling Heroics

All disclaimers still apply.

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**Thrilling Heroics**

Jayne Cobb was thrown face down onto the floor by the thinner suited man with blue hands. The thinner man, however, maintained his grip on Jayne's arm, wrenching it painfully behind the struggling merc. Jayne tried to roll himself over with his left arm, but it was kicked out from underneath him by the heavy-set man standing over him. Then there was a second kick to Jayne's face where he felt a sickening crunch. With warm blood dripping from his nose, Jayne knew they had broken it. Jayne then felt the heel of a shoe land squarely and painfully in the middle of his left hand. Then he heard a cry of pain, and realized it was his own.

"Jayne Cobb, I presume," the heavy-set man said grinding his heel into Jayne's hand. Jayne continued to struggle, but did not answer.

"Are you Jayne Cobb?" the thinner man asked nearly dislocating Jayne's right arm.

"Yeah!" Jayne cried out.

The heavy-set man asked, "Yes, what?"

"Yeah, I'm Jayne Cobb," Jayne answered despondently.

"Then you are the man who has engaged in intercourse with the subject," the heavy-set man stated.

"Don't know whatcha sayin'," Jayne responded, but this only earned him an added twist to his wrist from the thinner man.

"Sex, Mr. Cobb," the thinner man said evenly. "You have been engaging in sex with the subject."

Through the streams of blood running over his mouth, Jayne blurted, "Gui! How you know 'bout that?"

"We know much about you and the crew of Serenity," the heavy-set man said. "We have been following your ship since the Tams escaped custody on Ariel."

"Took long 'nough," Jayne said with a derisive laugh. The heavy-set man then kicked him sharply in the ribs, causing Jayne to bellow loudly.

"Serenity has been very elusive," the heavy-set man continued. "It does not stay in one place for more than a few days, and it stays out of the normal transport lanes."

"Captain Reynolds is quite skilled at avoiding notice," the thinner man said. "We tried to anticipate his moves."

The heavy-set man picked up the conversation again. "Three weeks ago, we learned of your captain's transport agreement with Oliver MacGrude. We convinced the recipients that it was in their best interest to allow the transaction to be completed without any complications."

"Should I thank ya?" Jayne interrupted. He regretted it immediately as the thinner man twisted the fingers on Jayne's right hand.

The heavy-set man paced in front of Jayne as he continued his story. "We attached a reconnaissance tracking suite to the hull of Serenity while you were completing the transaction." He removed what looked like a 50 caliber casing from his pocket and showed it to Jayne. "It is fired from a rifle and embeds in the hull. It has an effective listening range of 10 meters and its transmissions are masked by Serenity's engine flux."

"How's I get 50 of 'em," Jayne quipped.

The thinner man cuffed the back of Jayne's head. "We are telling you this to demonstrate what we know about Serenity. We know about your relationship with the subject. We know about the relationship between Kaylee Frye and Simon Tam. We know about Zoe Washburn's pregnancy. We know about Malcolm Reynolds emotions for Inara Serra and hers for him. It is pointless to resist!"

"Indeed," said the heavy-set man. "We have listened to the conversations on Serenity for the past two weeks. From them, we were able to determine when and where the ship would land, and how long it would be on the planet. We initially intended to use Mr. Black's men to assault the ship, but Mrs. Washburn's suggestion this morning provided us with a better opportunity."

"If'n ya know so much, why haven't ya kill'd me?" Jayne then asked.

"Your presence is fortuitous, Mr. Cobb." The heavy-set man picked up the computer tablet from the floor of the train car. "It will allow us to direct the subject's mental stripping more effectively. We need to know when the subject first became associated with you."

Jayne turned his head to the heavy-set man and gave a confused look. The thinner man then asked forcefully, "When did you first come in contact with the subject?"

Realizing what they meant, Jayne shouted, "Yer gonna make her forget me!"

"Yes, Mr. Cobb," the heavy-set man said. "Love is a powerful emotion that will interfere with her reintegration. We must remove all references of it from her mind. Now tell us when you first saw the subject."

"NOOO!" Jayne roared. Using his legs, Jayne managed to roll himself on top of the thinner man. Jayne quickly head-butted the thinner man with the back of his head which caused Jayne's right arm to come free. The heavy-set man then tried to stomp on Jayne's face, but Jayne caught his foot with both hands and twisted it. This sent the heavy-set man crashing against River's crate. Quickly rising to a crouch, Jayne turned to see the thinner man doing the same.

Grabbing hold of the thinner man with his left hand, Jayne punched him hard in the gut with his right, followed by an uppercut to his jaw. This sent the thinner man crashing against the wall of the train car. Jayne then unholstered his revolver and turned to the heavy-set man.

The heavy-set man, however, had watched Jayne's hands and was ready. Back on his feet, the heavy-set man kicked the revolver out of Jayne's hand and sent it bouncing into the hole left by the still-opened access panel. Jayne watched in dismay as the revolver fell in, but he looked back just in time to avoid two round-house kicks from the heavy-set man. When the heavy-set man made a third kick, Jayne caught his leg with his left hand and punched the heavy-set man in the groin with his right. The heavy-set man crumpled to the floor in pain.

Suddenly, two hands were on him from behind. One was grasping his left shoulder, while the other was reaching around him and gripping his throat. Jayne knew it had to be the thinner man, and tried to break the grip on his throat. The thinner man's grip on Jayne's throat, however, was surprisingly strong and Jayne was unable to break it. Choking, Jayne used his weight to throw the two of them against the car wall, but the thinner man did not release his grip. Jayne then tried to elbow the thinner man, but he couldn't get an angle. As a haziness began to set over his eyes, Jayne saw the heavy-set man rise to his feet.

"Release him," the heavy-set man said to the thinner man. The thinner man complied and Jayne shakily staggered forward towards the heavy-set man. The heavy-set man then hit Jayne with a powerful right hook. Jayne continued to stand, seeming too dazed to know he was supposed to fall down. He then tried to mount a counterattack on the heavy-set man, but he was too slow. The heavy-set man caught his right arm and punched Jayne in the armpit. Jayne then tried with his left, but the heavy-set man countered in the same way. Exasperated, Jayne tried lunging at the heavy-set man only to receive a back-handed fist across the face, and a hard kick in the stomach.

Jayne fell back against the rear of the car. He was now coughing up bits of blood and his eyelids drooped. The blue handed men approached him.

"Do you now see how pointless it is to resist us?" the heavy-set man asked.

"Don' matter," Jayne gasped. "Ain't gonna help ya."

The blue handed men looked at each other and nodded. Looking back, the thinner man said, "Then, Mr. Cobb, you are no longer useful to us."

The heavy-set man stepped over to Jayne's right and opened the rear door. Jayne could hear the sound of rushing wind come from the other side. He did not have long to wonder why he was hearing that, because the blue handed men hauled him up and faced him out the door. Looking out, Jayne saw that the rest of the train was missing. In its place was maglev track and landscape rushing away from him.

"Ruttin' hell!" Jayne exclaimed. "Whatcha do with the train?"

"The rest of the cars were disconnected when we learned you were on board," the thinner man answered.

"It is irrelevant!" the heavy-set man yelled over the wind. Looking at Jayne, he said with finality, "Good-bye, Mr. Cobb."

The blue handed men pushed Jayne towards the door, but Jayne splayed his hands and feet around the doorframe. The blue handed men paused for a moment, and then tried pushing him, but Jayne held fast to the doorframe. The blue handed men then alternately punched Jayne in the kidneys. Jayne gritted his teeth against the pain, but would not release his grip on the doorframe. Finally, the blue handed men stepped on Jayne's knees, forcing him to kneel, but his arms stubbornly remained on either side of the opening.

The thinner man gripped Jayne's neck and started choking him once more. "Your stubbornness is disappointing," he said. "Surely, you must realize that you are not a hero. You are a mercenary, a hired gun. You are supposed to kill without remorse, without compunction, without feeling. Only heroes have feelings."

"Got's feelings," Jayne choked out.

The heavy-set man then spoke up, "Nevertheless, you cannot be a hero."

Jayne's vision was becoming dark and the words the heavy-set man spoke sounded distant.

"Your name is inappropriate." Jayne's consciousness was slipping. "Jayne is a girl's name."

As the blackness was about to overtake him, Jayne thought he heard a distant heavy thud, and then a high-pitched voice yell, "Jayne is not a girl!"

Suddenly, the grip around Jayne's neck was released, and Jayne gasped for air. The darkness slowly receded, and Jayne realized that he somehow managed to hold on to the doorframe. Jayne then noticed a commotion behind him in the car. Pushing himself back through the doorway and turning around to his right, Jayne saw River fighting the blue handed men. She was standing in between them, and appeared to be more than up to the task of handling them both, even in that situation.

Taking a few moments to recover, Jayne decided to watch the battle between River and the blue handed men. Granted, Jayne had seen her fight off throngs of men a couple of times since that time in the Maidenhead when she was triggered. This fight, however, seemed to be somewhat different. Every kick, punch, spin, block, and jump that River made looked just as graceful as ever, and yet Jayne couldn't shake the feeling that there was more meaning behind each one. Slowly, Jayne began to notice that River was saying something with every movement as well.

"Won't…Go…Back!" River said lowly while fighting the men. Her voice became louder as the fight continued. Eventually, she was shouting.

By this time, Jayne was feeling more lucid and had made his way over to the maintenance shaft. He reached down and managed to fish out his revolver. Holstering it, Jayne found the access panel, and placed it over the hole. He didn't want anything else accidentally falling in. Standing up, Jayne carefully waited for his moment to join in. He had to be careful, because there had been occasions where he jumped in at the wrong time and met up with River's flying boot.

Suddenly, the heavy-set man wrapped his arms around River's torso, trapping her arms. The thinner man ran up and appeared to be reaching into his jacket, but River pushed up with both legs and kicked the thinner man with both feet. This sent the thinner man tumbling back towards Jayne. Seeing this opportunity, Jayne caught the thinner man by the back of his collar and sent a pile-driving hit down on his head. The thinner man collapsed to the floor dazed. Jayne then picked him up and hauled him to the rear door.

Opening the rear door, Jayne said to the thinner man, "Since I ain't supposed to feel nothin', guess I won't get choked up 'bout this."

Jayne then threw the thinner man out the rear door. Jayne watched his body make a small cloud of dust as it hit the ground.

Turning around, Jayne saw the heavy-set man with his arms still wrapped around River, but his eyes seemed wider than they should be. Stepping over to get a better look, Jayne saw River's right hand painfully gripping the heavy-set man's crotch. Jayne winced noticeably since he could remember a time when he was in the same situation. River managed to free her right arm and elbow the heavy-set man in the face. The heavy-set man instinctively covered his face and River spun around him to deliver a roundhouse kick to the back of his head. This sent the heavy-set man stumbling towards Jayne who grabbed the front of his suit with his right hand while applying a back-handed fist to the man's face with his left. The heavy-set man fell to the floor.

Ensuring the remaining blue handed man was still nominally conscious, Jayne hauled him to the rear door. Opening the door once more, Jayne said to him, "Mebbe my name ain't right for a hero, but at least I gotta name. So g'bye mister ah…"

Jayne thought for a moment, and then cocked his head to the side and gave the man funny smile. "G'bye Mister!" Jayne said as he threw the heavy-set man out of the train car.

Shutting the rear door, Jayne looked back to find River walking towards him. Tears were filling her eyes and her bottom lip trembled. Jayne noticed how she now looked less like a ferocious warrior and more like a frightened little woman. It amazed him how such small changes on her face could completely change her presence.

Jayne stepped forward to meet her and they wrapped each other in a strong embrace. River started sobbing and buried her face in his chest. Jayne comforted her by running a hand through her hair. He felt a tingling in his hand as he realized how close he came to not feeling its softness ever again.

"Almost lost you," River blurted against Jayne's chest, but Jayne didn't hear her too well.

Looking down at her, Jayne asked, "Whatcha say?"

River looked up and Jayne could see her now tear-stained cheeks. "I almost lost you."

"But ya didn't," Jayne said as he gently caressed her face.

"It was uncertain until the very end," she said guiltily. "I was covered in darkness. Couldn't see." River pressed her forehead against Jayne's chest. "I heard voices, their voices. I tried to run away, but the darkness trapped me, held me."

River looked back up at Jayne. "Then their voices left and I heard yours. You said that you were going to help me. I saw a light, a small pin-prick. I followed it, but it was very far away. Then I heard their voices return and you argued. I knew I had to hurry. Your light began to fade as I reached it."

Jayne held River tighter as he listened. "I opened my eyes and heard them taunting you, saying that Jayne is not a hero. The big man said 'Jayne is a girl's name.'"

River allowed a small smile come to her face. "But Jayne is not a girl."

"See there," Jayne sighed. "S'Alright, ya saved me."

Taking a calming breath, River said, "We saved each other."

They leaned in and kissed each other gently. As they backed away, Jayne asked, "Y'all right now?"

"Not broken," River responded as she looked Jayne over. "But my Jayne is."

River reached up and held Jayne's cheeks with both of her hands. Before Jayne knew what was happening, River had placed her thumbs on his nose. Jayne felt a sharp snap of pain and recoiled from River's grip.

"There, now you are fixed," River said.

Jayne lightly felt his sore nose and realized that it was straight once again. "Coulda let me know whatcha was doin'."

"You're resistance would have impeded the correction," River responded sweetly.

Jayne knew that there wasn't any point in arguing with her, so he looked around and said, "Well, guess we need to figure how we're stoppin' this train."

River nodded. She turned and walked to the front door as Jayne followed her, picking up Vera. They left the first car and found themselves standing in front of the door to the train engine. It had a keypad lock on it. Just as Jayne was about to use a few choice curses, River calmly reached up, punched in a code, and the door slid open.

"How'd ya…," Jayne started to ask, but when River gave him the 'you're a boob' look, Jayne just said, "Read his mind, huh?"

With a smile, River nodded, and then they entered. The inside of the train engine was cramped. It only had a small corridor that would allow a medium sized man to walk in either direction. For Jayne, it was too small, but for River, she was able to move easily. It sort of reminded Jayne of Serenity, only smaller.

River reached the controls, and sat in the single seat in front of them. Jayne hunched behind her as she worked the controls. After she pressed some buttons and flipped a few switches, Jayne noticed she was receiving a lot of alarm tones in return. Concerned he asked, "Somethin' wrong?"

River looked back. "The controls have been locked."

"Cantcha unlock 'em?" Jayne asked.

River shook her head. "It's an emergency override. The train station is controlling it."

"Can ya tell them to unlock it?" Jayne asked pointing to what looked like the comm.

River picked up the handset and said, "Jericho Station, Jericho Station! This is Blue Sky Transit 238, over."

There was silence. "Jericho Station, Jericho Station! This is Blue Sky Transit 238, please respond."

Jayne was becoming nervous when the comm crackled back at them. "Blue Sky 238, this is Jericho Station, go ahead."

Relieved at the response, River continued. "Jericho Station, request unlock of transit controls."

"Blue Sky 238, negative!" River and Jayne looked at each other grimly.

"Jericho Station, please explain,"

"Blue Sky 238, have received report of possible hijacking. Monitors indicate disconnection of all cars rear of the primary. Station will not unlock controls until engine and remaining car are secured by federal marshals at the Station." Jayne did not follow everything that was said, but he knew enough that they were in trouble.

"Acknowledge with personal security code," the voice over the comm said, but River simply switched it off.

"Now whadda we do?" Jayne asked. "We can't jump 'less'n we want ta end up like the other two."

"We'll jump once we've slowed down," River answered as she pulled up a train schematic on the screen in front of her.

Confused, Jayne asked, "How're we gonna slow down? We don't got control!"

"We don't have dynamic control," River corrected. "Some magnets lift, some magnets push."

Seeming to find what she was looking for, River stood up and squeezed her way around Jayne. "Follow me."

Jayne quickly followed River back down the corridor until she stopped and opened a panel. She looked in for a moment before stepping back and saying, "Shoot it."

Stepping towards her, Jayne unholstered his revolver, and then took a stance between the open panel and River. Looking away, Jayne fired a shot into the panel and sparks erupted out of it. Instantly, Jayne and River were jerked slightly forward as the train began to decelerate. Smiling, Jayne turned to River to find her smiling back. Grabbing his hand she said, "This way, they're almost here."

"Who?" Jayne asked as she led him back into the first car. Inside, River continued to lead Jayne to the rear door. She opened it and pointed out.

"There!" she said breathlessly. Jayne followed her finger, and saw ship flying above the tracks in the distance. It was Serenity!

"YYYAAAHHOOO!" Jayne yelled as he pumped a fist in the air. He then grabbed River and spun with her in his arms. They ended their celebration with a tender kiss.

Placing River down, Jayne then became curious and asked, "How'd you know?"

"The blue hands knew," River said. "They heard the Captain tell the crew that you were on the train when he got the Mule back. They knew he was coming."

Jayne nodded. Having a reader as a girlfriend had its good points. "Guess we wait 'til the train stops, then they pick us up."

River shook her head. "The train won't stop before the station. We will have to jump sooner."

Jayne gave River a concerned nod. River then said, "But first, we must let the crew know we're safe."

River moved to the side cargo door and opened it. Jayne stepped up beside her and saw that they had slowed some. Looking back Jayne could see Serenity had caught up with the train and was flying along side. River waved and Jayne followed.

"You think they see us?" Jayne asked, but she didn't answer as Serenity rocked gently from side to side.

"They seen us. Now what?" Jayne asked.

"Waiting on the Captain," River answered.

At that moment, Serenity dipped lower to the ground, and her loading ramp lowered. Suddenly, the Mule shot out of the cargo bay and started racing along side the train. Serenity then pulled up and gracefully turned off. Looking back at the Mule Jayne saw that it was Mal who was driving.

Making a double-take, Jayne asked, "If Mal's drivin', who's flyin'?"

"All questions will be answered later," River said. "Get ready!"

Then Jayne realized what they were waiting for as Mal eased the Mule next to the train car.

"Jump in!" Mal ordered pointing to the rear seats. River jumped first landing gracefully in the back. Jayne followed her much less so. Mal then drove the Mule away from the train and headed to where Serenity was setting down. River and Jayne watched as the train disappeared from view and then they hugged and kissed each other.

While they kissed, Mal asked without looking back, "So, you two had enough thrillin' heroics for today?"

Jayne and River continued kissing. At the silence, Mal asked, "Jayne? River? Everythin' all right?"

Breaking the kiss, Jayne answered, "Yeah, it's all right. We're doin' fine."

"Ya sure?" Mal probed.

"Yeah, it's all right. We're doing fine," River said insistently.

"So fine," Jayne added as he and River snuggled closer.

"Well then," Mal said ominously, "seems to me that we have some settlin' up to do after this little caper."

Jayne noticed Mal's tone and asked, "How's Zoe?"

"That's something we gotta settle up," Mal answered. A sinking feeling entered Jayne's gut and he held River closer. Serenity was looming large in front of them.

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Please review! 


	6. Settling Accounts

**Disclaimer:** Joss is boss. I'm just borrowing, so no money in it, just reviews. Reviews are like drugs, and I need a fix. Please let me know what you think.

**Author's Note:** A lot of things got in the way of finishing this chapter. School work, Finals, and the several approaches I took. Sorry about the delay, but it is finished, kinda. I did mean this to be the last chapter, but I felt it would be best to split up some elements. One more chapter is coming.

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**Settling Accounts**

Simon stood in the back of the cargo bay as the Mule drove in. He was wearing surgical gloves and his white smock over his clothes. His face was impassive, not betraying any emotion he felt. It was a necessary trait he had picked up as a surgeon on Osiris. On Serenity, however, he knew that it had caused him many problems, especially with Kaylee. Right now, he felt the look was a necessary measure given Zoe's condition. He watched as Mal, River, and Jayne dismounted the Mule and approached him.

Mal reached him first and asked him seriously, "How is she, Doc?"

"Well Captain," Simon started slowly, "I feel that I should tell you that her condition was very serious. She had multiple fractures, severe abdominal trauma, and a large hematoma to her head."

Mal stiffened. "What are you saying, Doc?"

"I did the best I could," Simon replied.

Jayne had been hanging back with River, but after hearing Mal and Simon's exchange he jumped forward and stammered, "Zoe? Is she?"

Simon looked directly at Jayne and said matter-of-factly, "Zoe's dead."

Jayne swung a shocked expression towards Mal. Mal looked back at Jayne icily and said, "Looks like you ain't got much time left."

Swinging his head between Simon and Mal's stares, Jayne stood for a moment in complete disbelief. After all they had been through, he couldn't believe Zoe would die like this. He had honestly believed that most of Serenity's crew would outlast him. Zoe was the rock, the constant, the steely nerved Second that would see them through no matter what their Captain got them into. Jayne felt his feet propelling him past Mal and Simon, and on to the infirmary. With each step, time seemed to slow down and Jayne began to doubt whether he would even make it to the infirmary.

After what had seemed like minutes, Jayne was exiting the cargo bay and going down the steps. He turned right jumped down the steps to the landing. He didn't bother looking through the windows to the infirmary. Turning to his left, Jayne saw the infirmary door open and light spilling out. It was just a few feet more.

Coming into the door way, Jayne saw Zoe lying on the infirmary bed. She was heavily bandaged and bruised. Kaylee was standing beside her, holding her hand. Jayne froze. They were…talking!

Zoe noticed Jayne and said warmly, "Welcome back, Jayne!"

Jayne caught his breath, and then he noticed some raucous laughter coming from behind him. Looking back, Jayne saw Simon and Mal walking down the steps with arms around each other and nearly doubled over from their laughing. River followed behind giving them both disapproving looks. Jayne suddenly understood and growled.

"We are psychotic!" Simon exclaimed.

"No, no," Mal said between chuckles, "just a couple of really bad men."

Jayne backed up as Simon and Mal approached the infirmary door. Kaylee asked, "What's goin' on?"

"Think I can guess," Zoe replied. "Sir, did you tell Jayne that I was dead?"

"Wasn't me, I swear!" Mal said holding up his hands.

"Simon?" Kaylee asked accusingly.

Simon didn't answer but began laughing uncontrollably all over again. Mal quickly joined him. Kaylee and Zoe both rolled their eyes and groaned.

River walked around Simon and Mal and stood next to Jayne still giving her brother and the Captain disapproving looks. Jayne asked her, "Why didn't ya tell me?"

"Conflicting loyalties," she said. Looking at Jayne assuringly, she continued, "Won't happen again."

Jayne nodded and then looked again at Zoe. "So yer okay?"

"Right as rain, thanks to you," Zoe replied and then she looked towards Mal. "Isn't that right, _sir_?"

Mal was still chuckling a bit as he turned his head and caught Zoe's pointed look. Looking back at Jayne, Mal wiped a tear from his eye and said, "Yeah, I have to admit you had a real good notion about sendin' the Doctor in 'Nara's shuttle. He says she wouldn't've made it elsewise."

"He's right," Simon nodded as he slowly regained his composure. "Her condition was as serious as I described in the cargo bay, but since I was able to treat her so quickly, she will now heal mostly on her own."

"Whatta 'bout her baby?" Jayne asked. Everyone smiled at his concern while Jayne continued, "She's been beat real bad. I don' think it's good for what's in her."

"The fetus is fine. She didn't have any injuries to her lower abdomen," Simon assured.

"What?" Jayne asked not understanding Simon's medical jargon.

"The _baby's_ fine," Kaylee chimed. "We thinks she protected it."

"Mother's instinct," Zoe added.

Relaxing, Jayne looked back at River, who was smiling, and took her hand his. Mal then spoke up again saying, "Well now, since we all know that my first mate's makin' a fine recovery, I'm thinking we best give the Doctor some room to do his work."

"Absolutely," Simon said stepping in through the infirmary door. "But I believe I have two more patients."

"One more," River corrected as she nudged Jayne inside. "I'm okay, but Jayne had his nose broken."

Jayne hesitated against River's nudging, saying, "S'nothin' really, Doc..."

"I tried setting it, but I'm not sure I did it correctly," River interrupted as she tugged Jayne's arm sharply. Looking back at River, Jayne caught her furtive glare.

"Yeh, well," Jayne said in a different tone as he turned back to Simon, "guess ya could look at it."

River remained behind as Jayne tentatively stepped into the infirmary and allowed Simon to examine him. Seeing this, Mal looked at River and said, "Well then, seein' as that's taken care of, River, I need you on the bridge relievin' 'Nara."

"Yes, Captain," River replied as she turned to head up the stairs.

"Wait! 'Nara's flyin' the boat?" Jayne asked as he swung his head out of Simon's hands.

"Jayne, let the Doctor do his work," Mal ordered. "Plenty of time later to answer your questions."

Mal then looked at Kaylee. "Right now, I got me a Mule that needs to be stowed."

Looking back at River, Mal continued, "And a ship that needs to be hid."

River nodded as she ran up the stairs. Kaylee clutched Simon's shoulder and they exchanged a meaningful glance before she left the infirmary. Mal remained at the door with his eyes on Jayne as Kaylee passed. "Once the Doctor's finished patchin' you up, I'll need you in the cargo bay."

"Be right there," Jayne said trying to keep his head still as Simon gently felt his nose. Mal then turned and strode back into the cargo bay leaving Zoe, Jayne and Simon in the infirmary.

An eerie silence settled over the room. Jayne tried not to look at Simon while the doctor examined him, but that proved difficult since he was literally in his face. Jayne knew that River wanted him to talk with Simon by the way she pushed him into the infirmary. It was likely that Kaylee also had the same idea, but for now, Jayne was at a loss for words. He continued to sit on the counter letting Simon examine his nose. The silence became increasingly weighty until Zoe broke it.

"What's the prognosis Doctor?" she asked.

Simon suddenly snapped his gaze to his hands. Jayne realized that he had been lost in thought. After a moment or two of actual examination, Simon rendered his prognosis.

"It appears River was overly concerned," he said, "She set it perfectly."

Jayne let out a sigh. The three of them seemed to relax now the silence was over.

"I can give you something for the swelling," Simon said more as a question.

It took Jayne a moment, but he finally said, "Yeah, be fine."

Simon moved to his med-kit and removed a vial and a syringe. He withdrew an amount of the liquid from the vial using the syringe and then approached Jayne. Jayne expected Simon to inject him right away, but Simon paused after he had picked up Jayne's arm. Looking at Simon, Jayne saw him staring blankly at his arm.

"This is difficult," Simon said after a pause.

"Why?" Jayne asked confused. "I musta seen ya do it a hundred times by now."

"That's not what I mean," Simon said looking Jayne squarely. They stared at one another for a moment before Simon began again. "What I mean is it's difficult to thank you for what you've done."

Simon let go of Jayne's arm as he continued. "Jayne, as long as I've known you, I haven't seen you do anything if there wasn't any profit in it for you. Yet, today you saved my mei-mei's life and risked your own in doing it. She is the same girl who you would have liked to have thrown off this ship just a few months ago."

Simon backed up a couple of steps and folded his arms while still holding the syringe. "I have to know, Jayne. What makes River so valuable to you now?"

When Simon finished, he was staring intently at Jayne. Jayne turned his head to Zoe to find that she too was looking intently at him. Then Jayne looked to the floor as he mulled over his response.

"I done told Mal already," Jayne said evasively.

"Then it should be easy to tell me," Simon responded leaving Jayne to pause once again.

"Can't," Jayne said finally while shaking his head.

"Why not, Jayne?" Simon asked.

"'Cause ya ain't gonna like what I say. That's why," Jayne shot back.

"I think if what you said was good enough to stop the Captain from shooting you, then I believe I can listen to it," Simon assured.

Jayne's eyes shot to Simon. "If'n you know about that, then why I gotta tell you?"

"I would like to hear it for myself," Simon said calmly. "The Captain wasn't explicit about the details."

Jayne looked once again to the infirmary floor. He cocked his head from side to side as he decided once again what to say. Finally, he made his decision.

"Well," he began slowly looking up at Simon, "like I done told Mal, yer sis' is the best thing that done happened to me. I been with lotsa girls and she's the first one who didn't jus' want me for sex or money or ta kill somebody, ya know. She jus' wanted me for me, said there was good in me. And ain't nobody say that ta me 'cept my Ma in a long time. And, I guess when ya got someone tellin' ya that, ya start thinkin' it. She got me wantin' to do things right now, even if'n I don't know how. And she's got me happy, more than I been since leavin' home, and I don't want that to stop fer nothin'. And I know that it's 'cause I been with her."

Simon waited a moment before asking, "Do you love her?"

"Yeah, Doc, I do," Jayne answered.

"Does River love you?"

"She does, Doc."

"How do you know?"

Surprised by Simon's question, Jayne turned his head as if to avoid the question.

"How do you know?" Simon asked more insistently.

"Well, like I said, I been with lotsa women." Jayne said softly and carefully watching Simon's expression. "I know 'cause River don't hold back like none of 'em."

Simon visibly tensed at the implication and Jayne backed away slightly. Fortunately, Simon was within arm's reach of Zoe who reached up and laid a hand on him.

"You asked," she stated. Simon turned his head to Zoe and after they exchanged looks for a few moments, he sighed and nodded.

Looking back at Jayne, Simon said understandingly, "Kaylee is the same way with me."

Jayne relaxed a bit, although he did have to suppress the temptation to leer at Simon.

"One thing I'd like to know, Jayne," Zoe said, "You said you want to do the right thing. Does the right thing include marrying River?"

Both men's eyes shot to Zoe and then to each other. Jayne then began to slowly nod his head and said, "Yeah, it does."

"Will that be alright by you, Doctor?" Zoe asked turning her head to Simon.

Simon tilted his head and said to Jayne, "You know you don't really need my permission."

"Sure like it," Jayne said. "Mean a lot to yer sis', too."

"Better than them doin' it behind your back," Zoe added. "Trust me."

Simon looked down pensively, then up at Jayne. "Then you have it," he said as he walked over to Jayne and injected him with the syringe. "Thank you for saving River's life. I hope you aren't upset about the Captain and I pretending Zoe was dead."

Jayne smiled. "Naw, ya both got me good. Figure we're even."

"Accounts settled then," Simon said as he backed away and Jayne headed towards the door.

"Not quite," Zoe said as she extended her hand to Jayne. Jayne stopped and when he saw Zoe's outstretched hand, he walked to her. As Jayne took hold of her hand, Zoe said, "Thanks for saving my life, and the life of my child."

"Hey, yer on my crew," Jayne said humbly as he held her hand.

"Go on, then," Zoe ordered. "Captain's probably wonderin' what's keepin' you."

As if on cue, a muffled shout penetrated the infirmary from the cargo bay, "Jayne! What's takin' so gorram long? The ship can't take off 'til we get this Mule stowed!"

"Be right there!" Jayne shouted back. He quickly squeezed Zoe's hand and patted Simon's arm as he rushed out of the infirmary. A large smile was set on his face by the time he reached Kaylee and Mal in the cargo bay.

"I take it by the look on your face that everything's smooth 'tween you and the Doc now," Mal asked as he was tightening some straps on the Mule.

Jayne nodded as he set to work on the straps on the other side. "Yup."

They worked in silence for a while until Jayne ventured a question. "Things smooth 'tween us?"

Mal hooked the final straps together and signaled to Kaylee, who activated the hoist. Jumping off the Mule next to Jayne, Mal watched it ascend. Keeping his eyes on the Mule, Mal said to Jayne, "Ain't accustomed to sayin' it, Jayne, but you did good."

The rare compliment caught Jayne off guard and he stared at Mal. Mal continued to watch the Mule's progress saying, "Back at the tree stand, I didn't think there was no way we could save Zoe and find River, but seein' the both of you wavin' from the back of that train changed my perception."

The Mule reached it stowing position and stopped. Mal then looked at Jayne. "If things keep goin' this way, my days of not takin' you seriously are definitely leavin' their middle."

Mal and Jayne exchanged understanding looks before Mal continued again, "Just gotta ask one thing: the next time you have a better idea, you rough me up or you shake me. I ain't partial to gettin' hit, dong ma?"

"Sure, Mal," Jayne answered with a smile.

Kaylee had walked up to the two men almost unnoticed. "So, Jayne, ya gonna tell us how ya rescued River and was all heroic and stuff?"

"Think we all would like to hear about that," Mal said clapping a hand on Jayne's shoulder. "Maybe you could tell us at chow time."

The mention of food made Jayne realize that he was extremely hungry. "Yeah, good idea. I could go fer a mess a food right now."

"Maybe not," Kaylee said with a grimace.

"Why not, mei-mei?" Mal asked.

"On account that Zoe's laid up in the 'firmary," Kaylee answered. "Simon's cookin' tonight."

Both men exchanged apprehensive looks.


	7. End of Day

**Disclaimer:** All still apply. Joss is Boss, I'm merely borrowing, so no money in it for me. Send reviews so I know you love/hate it.

**Author's Notes: **Seeing all the weird pairings popping up in this fandom motivated me to finish this story. Rayne should be Canon, not Jaylee, not MalRiver, not RiverKaylee, and especially not MalSimon! Okay, just a little militant there, but on to other things. Final chapter to this story, I hope it answer all questions, and is enjoyable. I do have other stories in mind, and I hope to bring them to you soon.

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**End of Day **

Jayne and River were lying on their sides facing each other on the bed in what was formerly known simply as Jayne's bunk. A single sheet stretched across both their waists, leaving their upper bodies bare. The room was lowly lit, but it could be seen that both of their bodies were slightly flushed and they were covered by a light sheen of sweat. As they faced each other, Jayne lightly stroked River's side from her shoulder to the curve of her hip and back. River, on the other hand, absent-mindedly twirled a lock of Jayne's chest hair with her finger. Their eyes were locked together and their faces contained expressions of wonder. They carried on in this way for several minutes in complete silence.

"It was a brave and foolish thing you did," River said finally.

"Needed ta be done," Jayne said in response as he continued to stroke her skin.

"It will encourage further reckless behavior by the rest of the crew," River said more emphatically.

"Hell, they knows why I done it," Jayne defended. "Done made your brother all kindsa happy, too."

Rolling her eyes, River replied, "He especially does not need that kind of encouragement. His cooking is horrid."

"S'much worse a day later," said Jayne. "Done had ta have seconds. T'weren't gonna be no leftovers."

The corners of River's mouth turned up as a small giggle escaped her lips. "Captain nearly cried trying to keep up," she said.

"Really?" Jayne asked. "Thought he was tearin' up 'cause of the smell."

"Poor Captain," River said with another giggle.

"It's his own gorram fault," Jayne said brusquely. "Said he'd match me helpin' fer helpin'. Done agreed."

"He'll know not to do that again. No one on the ship can eat as much as my Jayne," River said softly as she tickled his chest.

Jayne let out a surprised grunt as he caught River's wrist. Then they stared at each other in silence. "My girl," Jayne finally said as he ran his hand up River's arm, around her back and pulled her into a deep kiss.

They kissed each other longingly for several moments before separating and locking their eyes on each other once again. Jayne resumed caressing River's side as she continued to twirl her fingers in his chest hair. After some more silence, River stated, "You still have questions."

Jayne nodded. "Yeah."

"How did I know the Hands-of-Blue were on Ariel?" River said reading Jayne's question.

"Ya said at supper they can hide their thoughts, make like they ain't even there. 'S'how they tranked ya," Jayne said and River nodded to this. "So how come ya felt them on Ariel?"

"They weren't trying to hide then, didn't think it was necessary," River answered. "Thought I was contained."

Jayne nodded slightly. Silence crept in as he thought for a moment. "So what happened to that engineer-kid, the one I sent to drop off the Mule?"

River looked away and stared curiously in the direction of Inara's shuttle. When she looked back, she said, "The Captain sent him on his way, told him to start walking to the nearest town."

"He jus' left 'im?" Jayne asked incredulously.

"Had Kaylee give him some water," River explained. "Said he wasn't taking in any strays."

"Guess he was hurryin' to find us," Jayne commented off-handedly.

River cast her eyes down and her mouth frowned slightly. Seeing this, Jayne urgently asked, "What?"

Looking back at Jayne, River slowly shook her head and said heavily, "No, he wasn't."

Jayne's eyes grew wide, but as he tried to ask the next question, River began to answer it.

"He was upset, angry," she said. "Zoe was hurt, I was kidnapped, and you had hit him. He didn't feel in control anymore, and he needed to feel in control. 'Keep flying,' he thought, 'We have to keep flying.'"

"So he was fixin' to leave us, too?" Jayne asked.

"Didn't think he had a choice," River said. "He didn't think you could rescue me by yourself. Thought you may be dead already. All he had left was Kaylee and Simon, and they would have slowed him down more."

"Well, they must've stopped him, yer brother and Kaylee," Jayne stated somewhat as a question.

"They tried," replied River. "When the Captain sent the engineer away, Kaylee asked if they were coming to find us.

_"No, we're leavin'," Mal said. _

_"But we're comin' right back, soon as Zoe's all right?" Kaylee asked, but Mal didn't answer or even look at her as he raised the loading ramp and shut the airlock. _

_"Ain't we?" Kaylee almost pleaded. _

_Mal finally turned to her and said, "Kaylee, this ain't Jianying, and those weren't hillfolk who took River. Most likely __Alliance_ _or somesuch, and what they did to Zoe was a message to anyone who comes after. Now Jayne's gone after them, so they're gonna send folk after us. I ain't capable of fightin' em all off by my lonesome, and I'll do worse lookin' after you and the Doc. We need to steer clear of this mess." _

_"But Jayne's there on the train!" Kaylee now pleaded, "He's dependin' on us to come an' get 'em!" _

_"It's likely he's already dead," Mal said impassively. "An' even if he's alive, the man's cut loose. He made his call takin' the Mule, dong ma?" _

_"But River,..." Kaylee said with a hitch in her voice. _

_"River's gone. They got her," Mal said before placing a hand on Kaylee's shoulder. "Best get used to it." _

_"What do you mean River's gone?" _

_Both Mal and Kaylee looked to find that Simon had walked up without them noticing. Kaylee immediately clung to him and began sobbing into his shoulder. Simon held her, but glared at Mal saying, "I believe I asked you a question, Captain. What do you mean she's gone?" _

_"Just that, Doctor," Mal replied growing impatient. "She's gone, an' there's no way we're gettin' her back." _

_"I can't believe you're ready to give up so soon," Simon said. "What about the Miranda Wave? Didn't that mean anything to you?..." _

_Mal interrupted Simon, shouting, "Bi zui! Look around Doctor! We're all that's left! Surely as I know this, if we start after whoever did this, we'll all end up like Zoe in there or worse. You've seen her condition. Tell me, how is she?" _

_"Lucky to be alive," Simon answered. _

_"Just like the rest of us if we high-tail it after your sister right now," Mal said. Then he added, "Strap yourselves in." _

Jayne opened his mouth to ask a question, but River pressed her fingers to his lips as she continued her story.

"Inara had been standing on the catwalk outside her shuttle," River began again. "She had heard everything, and when the Captain started up the stairs below her, she went up the stairs to the bridge. She was trying to get there before he did, but in the passageway, the Captain saw her."

_Mal asked, "Where do you think you're goin', Inara?" _

_Inara was at the steps leading up, when she turned back to the Captain and said, "To the bridge, Mal. Someone has to do something to save River and Jayne since you obviously refuse to." _

_"Inara, I've had enough of crew disobeyin' me and sneakin' around behind my back," Mal said as he walked to her. "You ain't takin' my ship and that's an order!" _

_Inara looked at the Captain and said, "Well, how convenient that I'm not a member of your crew. You can't order me to pick up a scrap of paper, let alone stop me from flying the ship." _

_Mal countered, "While you're on my ship, you'll follow my orders!" _

_"Or what, Mal?" Inara asked. "Are you going to try to stop me like you tried to stop Jayne? We all know how well that went." _

_Inara then turned to walk up the steps to the bridge, but Mal grabbed her arm, saying, "Inara, I ain't gonna let you do this." _

_Inara looked back at Mal and said loudly, "How dare you. Unhand me." _

_"No!" the Captain yelled. "You ain't draggin' us into this craziness!" _

_Inara struggled to get free of the Captain, shouting, "Let me go!" _

_"No!" Mal shouted back. _

_"Let! Me! GO!" Inara screamed as she spun around and slapped Mal across the face with her free hand. _

Jayne winced as River had paused her story telling for some dramatic effect. With a low smile, River continued, "The Captain then let go of Inara's arm as he took a step back and held the side of his face."

_Turning away from Inara, Mal said, "Tamade! Just like Jayne! You all are crazy just like him." _

_"He's not crazy, Mal!" Inara shouted hotly. "He's in love with River!" _

_"And what about you?" Mal shouted back. "Why are you so feng le to follow after them?" _

_"I love them, too! We all do, Mal!" Inara railed. "It's what binds this crew together, the fact that we all love being together on this ship." _

_"That supposed to make it right?" Mal protested. "I lose my ship, my crew, because no one wants lose each other? Folks gotta stand on their own, Inara." _

_"I should have known you wouldn't understand," Inara said spitefully. "You can't see the love around you even when it slaps you in the face!" _

_A confused look washed over Mal's face, and he said, "Slaps? Jayne hit me." _

_Inara's eyes widened as she gasped and her hand flew to cover her mouth. She looked down as she tried to think of a reason to cover her slip, but finding none, she looked back hoping that Mal would stay confused. Mal, however, had been replaying the last moment over in his head, carefully considering Inara's choice of words. When the pieces fell together in his mind, Mal's eyes widened and his jaw became slack. He looked back at Inara and was only able to utter, "Huh." _

_Mal and Inara stood on the steps to the bridge staring at one another amidst an uncomfortable silence. Finding nothing else left to do, Inara quickly turned around and ran into the bridge. Mal paused for a bewildered moment before he ran after her. When Mal entered the bridge, Inara was already sitting in the pilot's chair preparing Serenity for lift-off. He walked to her and asked, "So you're set on doin' this?" _

_"I am," Inara replied determinedly. _

_"Suppose there's no reason in tryin' to talk you out of it?" Mal asked. _

_"No, there isn't," Inara said irritatedly as she flipped the ignition switches. _

_"Fine, then let's see you get this ship in the air," Mal dared as he leaned against the console next to her and crossed his arms. Inara just looked at him disdainfully in response. The upthrust nearly knocked Mal off his feet. _

_"Wha...How'd you?...," Mal stammered._

_Inara rolled her eyes, "Honestly, Mal! When Zoe went to free you and Wash from Niska, did you ever think about who would have flown the ship if she didn't come back?" _

_Mal opened his mouth to make a retort, but he decided not to say it. Taking a moment for thought, Mal straightened up and said sternly, "Alright, we'll play your little game for awhile, but the minute we find trouble, you're gonna steer us clear and break atmo and never look back. Agreed?" _

_"Agreed," Inara said looking Mal squarely in the eyes. _

_Mal nodded to her, then turned to the front and said, "Well then, let's get on with this craziness." _

Jayne looked dumbly at River as she finished telling the story. Slowly, Jayne began to ask, "So it's 'cause of ' Nara that were back on the ship?"

River nodded.

"An' that's how she come to be flyin' it when we got back?"

River nodded again.

Jayne looked around hesitantly and commented, "Never thought she'd be one to try rescuin' me!"

"She thinks you're crude," River stated, "but she doesn't hate you. Thinks that you are useful, especially for getting the Captain out of trouble."

"Seein' as he's the one who always get's us in trouble," Jayne laughed. River giggled as well. Thinking for a moment, Jayne then asked, "So what are they doin' now, seein' as Mal knows ' Nara 's got feelin's for him?"

River gave Jayne a sly grin. She inched closer to Jayne on the bed, saying, "It took them two hours and fifty-two minutes, but they have performed copulation."

"C'mon, River!" Jayne said in frustration. "Ya know I don't understand them fancy words."

Leaning towards Jayne, River teasingly kissed his lips. Then she said, "Copulation, understand?"

A broad toothy smile spread across Jayne's face as he understood. "So they was gettin' trim, huh?"

River looked back to Inara's shuttle and stated, "Are, again."

Jayne rolled on to his back, saying, "Don' know if I'm gonna like Mal bein' so happy. Kinda got used to him bein' a grump all the time."

"There will be many changes, but we will adjust to them," River assured.

Turning his head to River, Jayne asked, "Like ya bein' my wife?"

River blushed as she let loose a giddy smile. "And children," she said.

As River's words hit him, a shocked expression flew across Jayne's face. Reading Jayne's mind as it raced to form a question, River answered, "No, we haven't. I'm talking about Zoe."

"But ya said children, an' not child," Jayne stated.

"The probability of a pregnancy developing between Simon and Kaylee is very high," River said dryly. "They are not preventing."

"Oh," Jayne said relieved. "So are we...preventin'?"

"We are," River affirmed smiling a little more broadly. "We could use some practice before we become parents."

"Well," Jayne said as he reached out and pulled River on top of him causing her to squeal with delight, "Since we're preventin', maybe we could _prevent_ s'more."

"First," River said as she straightened an arm against Jayne's chest, "tell me again how you found me."

"Ah, River!" Jayne said in exasperation. "I done told you that three times!"

"How many times have we had sex this evening?" River asked with a leer.

"Uh, three?" Jayne said confusedly.

"Suspect any correlation?" River asked as she straddled Jayne and lightly thrust her hips against him.

"Well, uh," Jayne started speaking quickly, "after I left Mal and Zoe at them stand 'a trees, I followed them wagon tracks. They went down the same road me an' Mal jus' come in on. I'm guessin' them blue-hand fellas didn' want no one seein' them so they stayed outta town. So's I knows the road forks down a ways, an' seein as me an' Mal come in on one of them, they musta taken the other one. Well, t'weren't more an' twenty minutes that I come up to a horse and wagon in the middle 'a the road facin' the other way. There was this old farmer holdin an old double barrel on some kid who was drivin' the wagon.

_"It wasn't me, I swear!" the driver shouted holding his hands up. _

_"It was you! Don' lie ta me, boy!" the farmer shouted back. _

_"What's the trouble here?" Jayne asked as he stepped down from the Mule. _

_"Got none with you," the old farmer said after quickly appraising the newcomer, "but this boy owes me coin for runnin' over five of my hens." _

_"The man's old and crazy," the young man said dismissively. _

_"Not too old to know what I seen!" the farmer said menacingly. _

_"What did ya see?" Jayne asked the farmer as he studied the horse and cart, and the tracks on the road. _

_"Well," the farmer said as he kept a stern watch on the young man in the cart, "not more'n hour ago, I was walkin' my hens to the market, plannin' to trade them for supplies, when this boy comes tearin' around the bend an' nearly runs me over. My hens weren't so lucky." _

_"See any folk with 'im?" Jayne asked as he inspected one of the horse's hoofs. _

_"Weren't no folk," the farmer said. "'Least none from around here." _

_"Was there two 'a them?" Jayne asked turning to the farmer. _

_"Yeah," the farmer said glancing towards Jayne. _

_"The old-timer's seein' things," the young driver said. "Wasn't no one with me!" _

_"But you was here!" Jayne shouted silencing the young man. Looking back at the farmer, Jayne asked, "What'd they look like?" _

_"One was kinda big, an' the other looked skinny," the farmer said. "They was all dressed up an' fancy like." _

_"Didja see a girl?" Jayne questioned. _

_"Can't say I did, stranger," the farmer answered. "Couldn't see much else lyin' on the side of the road." _

_The young driver spoke up, "You gonna believe this old geezer?" _

_"Sure am," Jayne barked. _

_"It's his word 'gainst mine," the young man said haughtily. _

_"No it ain't," Jayne replied. "Them wheel tracks in the dust, here, couldn't be more'n hour old, and they's just wide as your wheels. The horse that was pullin' the wagon is missin' a shoe, jus' like your horse there. Boy, you was here, not more'n hour ago an' with two men!" _

_Jayne drew his sidearm and pointed it at the young driver. The young man shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the sight of the new weapon trained on him. The old farmer gleefully grinned. Jayne then ordered, "Now ya tell me where ya left 'em." _

_"What business is it of yours?" the young man asked frightfully. _

_"Boy," Jayne growled, "them hundans jus' bushwhacked a friend 'a mine an' done snatched my girl! Supposin' I got plenty 'a business with 'em." _

_"I can't tell ya," the young man pleaded. "They said they'd kill me if'n I did." _

_"I'll kill ya if ya don't," Jayne said cocking the hammer back with his thumb. _

_"Tell him, boy!" the farmer added. "Ya ain't got no other choice." _

_Reluctantly, the young man said, "I left 'em next to an old cattle ramp on some free range land a few miles back. Looked like they was 'xpectin' a train to come." _

_"See anythin' else?" Jayne asked. _

_"Nothin'." _

_"Nothin'?" _

_"They told me not to look around," the young man explained. "Told me they'd kill me outright if'n I got curious, so I looked ahead the whole time." _

_"Musta paid ya pretty good to do that," Jayne probed. _

_"Five hundred platinum," the young man admitted. _

_Jayne stretched out his other hand. "Let's have it." _

_The young man hesitated for a moment before he produced a sack of coins from under his feet. He tossed the sack to Jayne who caught it with his free hand. Jayne then wagged his revolver at the young man and said, "Now, git!" _

_Picking up the reins, the young man snapped them and started the horse and wagon down the road. The old farmer stepped aside as the wagon passed, and then approached Jayne. _

_"Obliged to what you've done, stranger," the old farmer said. _

_"Think nothin' of it, old-timer," Jayne replied as he holstered his gun. _

_Looking at the sack of coins in Jayne's other hand, the farmer said, "Reckon half that is mine." _

_Jayne looked at the sack and paused. He looked back at the farmer and said, "Reckon so." _

_The two men quickly divided the contents of the sack into their respective coin purses. When they finished, the old farmer asked Jayne, "What ya plannin' on doin' now?" _

_"Plannin' to get them fellas that snatched my girl," Jayne answered as he started walking to the Mule. _

_"I know of that cattle ramp the boy spoke of," the farmer said as he followed Jayne. "Used to run cattle there in my younger days. I can tell ya it's a bunch of open space out there and no means to sneak about if ya plannin' on sneakin'." _

_Jayne mounted the Mule and said, "Means there ain't no place for them to hide neither." _

_"Just sayin', stranger, that they mighta picked the spot 'cause they thought you might be comin'. Ya might want to think a way around it," the old farmer suggested. _

_Jayne regarded the farmer curiously, "How's a farmer get to thinkin' like that?" _

_The farmer grinned, "Didn't get to be an old-timer by playin' it straight." _

_Silence fell over the two men as the peered at one another. Jayne gave the old farmer a respectful nod and the farmer returned it. Without a word, the farmer stepped away from the Mule as Jayne powered it up. They left in opposite directions and didn't look back. _

"Well, the old-timer was right," Jayne said. "When I got ta a mile of the ramp, I stopped ta look around. Sure 'nough, there was some folks waitin', and not for no train. Knew they had ta know which way y'all went, but I couldn'ta walk up'n ask. And thinnin' 'em out woulda taken time. That's when I saw 'em cows settin' not more'n a mile off the other way, an' it jus' come to me that I should run 'em at those guys."

River smirked, "Thought it was like going to Mr. Universe's moon."

"Yeah," Jayne said, "'cept them 'Reavers' was in front 'a me."

"Why did you pick up the calf?" River asked curiously.

"Well, I knows that them cattle weren't gonna get all of 'em," Jayne answered. "Figured I needed a decoy, 'case the ones what lived an' all come out shootin'."

"Almost killed the calf," River commented.

"Nah, I didn't," Jayne said. "Them fellas was too stunned ta pull the trigger."

"You knew they wouldn't shoot it?" River asked quizzically.

"Sure," Jayne responded confidently. "When a man goes out ta shoot a man, he don't shoot no cow."

River giggled at Jayne's simple logic. Jayne then reached up and ran a hand through her hair. As Jayne continued to stroke her hair, River locked eyes with him and said, "Tell me again what you said to the last man before you left the cattle ramp."

Jayne smiled back at her. He sensed her anticipation as she slightly rubbed her hips against him and kneaded his chest. As River lowered her face so close to his that Jayne could feel her hot, bated breath, Jayne drawled, "Well..."

"What did you say?" River asked throatily.

"I told him," Jayne said slowly as he wrapped his arms around her, "I told him I was goin' to get my girl back."

After that Jayne could not speak. River's mouth was firmly against his as she tasted him and he tasted her. All he could feel was her body eagerly pressing against his. He could only smell her scent and hear her insistent moans. There was no doubt in his mind. He got his girl back.

**Epilogue**

It was night time at the main headquarters of the Blue Sun Corporation. Most of the employees had left for the day leaving the building almost entirely dark. Through the darkened hallways of the Science and Development division, however, a lone female walked. Her footsteps echoed as she approached the Office of Special Projects. She hesitantly knocked and the heavy oak doors quickly slid open.

"Enter," a voice said from within the dimly lit room. Recovering from her shock, she did.

Inside the large room, a single black mahogany desk stood near the back wall. A high-backed black leather chair stood behind it and was turned so that the young woman could not see its occupant. On the back wall, several holographic captures of a teen-aged girl were being projected. The sallow-eyed, haunted look of the girl in the center capture always bothered the young woman whenever she came in there. She did notice a couple of new captures of the girl where she was noticeably smiling.

As she carefully walked across the tiled floor to the desk, the young woman said timorously, "The memo you requested, sir."

Fully intending to leave the computer sheet on the desk, the young woman was startled when the voice came from over the chair saying, "Read it."

Slowly, the young woman brought the sheet back to her and held it with both hands. In a loud but tremulous voice, she said, "To Emerson Wang, Office of Special Projects, Science and Development Division, from Andrew Kyle, Director of Operations, Blue Sky Transit Authority, New Canaan , regarding ongoing special project 54293-RT. Mr. Wang, it is with sincere regret that I must inform you that the biological specimen that your office was transporting on industrial transport 238 has been stolen. I must also inform you that the two employees who were accompanying the cargo have been found dead. Resuscitation of your employees was not possible due to the extreme damage of the corpses. An investigation into this theft is being conducted by the local battery of Federal Marshals, but, as yet, has not developed any leads. Although we do feel regret for this incident, we believe that we are not responsible due to the fact..."

"That will be all," the voice said sharply over the chair cutting the young woman off. She quickly slipped the sheet onto the desk and walked as quickly as she could back out the still open doors. Down the hallway, as she was running, the young woman heard the voice yell angrily, "River Tam! I _will_ have you back!"


End file.
